Silver Tongue
by Elleth of Hidden Lore
Summary: Able to speak in ancient tongues in order to call upon spirits of elements, magic and illusion, the Silver Tongues are a race of mages sent throughout the Worlds to lend their aid in times of need. Unaware that her family line belongs to these legendary folk, Catherine finds herself in Middle earth. Now she'll journey through this Land to fulfill her part in its history.
1. Chapter 1

**It's been quite a while since last I wrote something long that is not the parodies I am working on with my co-writer, Windy. I honestly can't remember when I started writing this, over a year ago actually, but I had forgotten it. I found it in my documents and read it over and decided to continue it. I really hope you like it.**

**You do not need to read any other story to understand this one, but it does make references to another I wrote called "When dawn breaks I will still be there." Like I said, you don't need to read it at all to understand this one, but if you wish to do so, then by all means do!**

**Silver Tongue**

**Chapter one**

Running down the hall of Harvard, long, black hair flowing and bouncing behind, was twenty two year old Catherine. She made herself way by pushing and squeezing herself through the mass of students and teachers, all dressed in heavy winter clothing. It looked like a survivor's competition. Everyone raced each other trying to reach the food courts and cafeterias first to avoid long lines, and others just wanted to leave as soon as possible to start their weekend.

As Catherine rushed between the crazed crowd, a very large man brushed brusquely against her, making her lose her balance and stumble to the side, bumping into several people who either tripped along with her or shoved her aside with a curse or rude remark. Catherine ended up falling against a young woman who quickly reached out to steady her.

"Thank you," she told her quickly, then turned to the guy that had pushed her in the first place. "And watch it next time you big idiot!" she yelled after him, but he either didn't hear her or didn't care enough to reply back.

Huffing in annoyance, Catherine resumed her journey across the hall. Finally, she made it out of the crowded hall and into a long corridor with many doors, each with a tag with the name of the owner of the office. She passed about twelve doors before she arrived in front of one that said 'Nair Silver Tongue'. Without the need to knock, Catherine entered the office.

An old woman was sitting behind her desk reading some papers. At first look many were fooled by the appearance of the woman. Even though she was in her mid-sixties, she appeared almost twenty years younger. Her blond hair tied back in an elegant bun, though somewhat lacking its former shine, looked young and healthy and enviable for many much younger women. Her ice blue eyes were strong and firm and full of life and deep mystery. Yet even if all her appearance made this woman look much younger than she was, people would quickly realize that she was older than she looked when she spoke to them. She had an air of authority and deep experience and knowledge that could only be acquired by long years of life and learning. There was a mysterious aura around her. No one could truly understand her and her power over people. She was never forceful, but by a single glance it seemed that she could read thoughts and souls and get any answer she wanted from anyone.

The old woman put down her paper and looked up with a smile at her niece.

"Good morning Catherine. You seem to be in a rush."

"I am. I'm sorry to barge in and leave so quickly but I am late for an appointment and I need to borrow some books I saw you have for an assignment," she said while searching through one of the three bookshelves in the office.

"Have you in mind a place to go this weekend?"

"Place to go? What do you mean?" she asked, looking over her shoulder with an inquisitive look, then looking back at the books.

"I mean, are you planning on leaving that pile of books and papers for a day and go out to have fun and relax for a change."

"I have no time for that, aunt Nair," she said with mirth in her voice. "I have two assignments due next week and a test as well."

"Honestly child, you need to live life a little more! You live buried in books and studies and you hardly give yourself time to relax and have fun. You act more like an old woman than I! I question whether or not you will ever get married or have more friends than just the youth from your classes. They seem to be around you more out of interest than of true friendship."

"Of course they are! Do you think I don't know that? But I am their 'friend' out of interest above all as well. That's how things work when you're about to graduate in Laws School. You should know."

"I do know, but I worry about you. At least _they_ do not spend every waking moment with their noses stuck in the pages of books."

"To get grades like mine so that I can afford enough scholarships to afford Harvard is not easy. Plus I've managed to make six years in four. At this rate I'll be out of college in no time!"

"Oh Silver Tongue, you need to learn to live."

"I know how to live! And please stop calling me like that!"

"Why can I not call you by your name?"

"It's my surname, and it sounds like weird, ancient surname."

"It is an ancient surname, and it has passed down through many generations. Names always have special meanings, and yours, both name and surname, are truly special."

There was silence for a while as Catherine continued to search through the books, ignoring her aunt's last comment.

"Aunt Nair, where are the books on Russian and Middle East laws and politics?"

Catherine turned around and found her aunt staring at her with penetrating eyes. Catherine had gotten used to her aunt staring at her like this after a few years of the same thing. She had asked the reason for her to do this, but she never got an answer. The old woman seemed to bore into her soul. She could feel as is her aunt could see an entire world within her every time she stared at her this way.

"How is your head, Catherine? Has the aching increased?"

"It has been better of late," she answered carefully.

"The books are back here," said Nair, turning and walking further into the office. They arrived at a little gathering room.

Catherine looked around but saw no books. She was then taken by surprise when her aunt began to push a wardrobe along the wall. She didn't bother to offer her help since she was always shunned away anyways. Catherine gawked at a small door that appeared from behind the wardrobe.

"I never knew this was here. Why didn't you ever tell me about it?"

"I like to keep some things secret. I am sure you know that by now."

Catherine had to hold the urge to role her eyes, remembering the many secrets and mysteries her aunt always held. She walked into the small room which was lit by a lantern that was connected to the wall outside. The room was very small. It had room only for the bookshelf and three people. Catherine crouched and began searching through the books. As she did, something caught her attention and made her smile. She reached for a framed picture of a handsome young man with wild golden hair and blue eyes.

"You two were very alike- dad and you- almost like twins. Too bad I never got his golden locks or blue eyes."

"You look a lot more like your grandfather, my father," Nair chuckled. "Tall, long black hair and honey eyes. He was a true definition of a dark beauty."

Nair observed the picture and smiled, caressing the image of her father.

"I miss him," she said, longingly.

"So do I," Nair replied, wistfulness in her voice. "Well I will leave you now, child. I have a meeting in an hour and I want to find a chair as far from the air vent as possible. Apparently people do not understand that having cold air conditioner during winter is an insanity!"

Catherine chuckled.

"Alright, see you later then."

Catherine resumed searching though the books, but felt as if she was being observed. She turned her head to find her aunt staring at her profoundly, a hint of melancholy in her eyes.

"Uh, is everything alright aunt Nair?"

The old woman smiled calmly.

"Nothing, child. Goodbye, Catherine."

Without another word, Nair turned and left Catherine wondering what that melancholic farewell was about. Suddenly remembering that she was late, Catherine continued to search through the books. When she thought she had everything she wanted, she put back the books she had taken out and prepared to leave. Just as she was standing to leave, something caught her eyes. Catherine crouched once more before the old bookshelf and reached out for a small book. It was leather bound with a silver spine. It was only about three inches wide and four long. But what caught her attention the mots was what was written on the cover, _Argentum Lingua._

"_Argentum Linguea? _Silver tong_," _she said to herself, translating the words from Latin to English.

Catherine had no more time so she stuffed the book in her pocket and ran out of the office. She reached her car without breath. Her things had already been packed and stuffed in the backseat of the car in the early morning. Catherine had learned never to leave anything, not food, not clothing, not even her dishes at her dorm, because the girls she shared the dorm with liked to have parties in the weekends and everything Catherine owned would disappear or appear broken, stained of half eaten.

Catherine started the engine and drove out of the parking lot of her building and into the street in direction to Berkshire where she lived. Not ten minutes had passed when she found herself in a traffic jam.

"Oh come on people! I am late as it is!" she said, slamming her forehead on the steering wheel.

The phone began to ring. Catherine reached for it, but seeing it was her friend whom she was due to meet in less than ten minutes, she decided not to answer. Traffic began to move slowly. She saw that there had been an accident and that a police man was moving traffic. When it was her turn to stop, Catherine remembered the little book she had found. She pulled it out of her pocket and studied it once more. The cover was engraved with the words _Argentum Lingua,_ her surname.

"Silver tongue," she muttered to herself, translating the meaning of the word. She opened the first page. Her eyes widened when she saw a beautiful picture that had been hand drawn in ink. It was a young man with a most handsome face. His facial features were gentle and fine. There was a lovely smile on his face and a sparkle in his eyes. He was wearing an elegant robe. It was a complicated design. His attire had several layers, all with embroidery of leaves and vines. He was holding his right hand up, his palm facing the sky and from it light or magic seemed to be projecting. His left hand has held waist height and he was holding a small book, identical to the one she was holding. Catherine flipped the page and saw a single sentence in the middle of the page, it was written in Latin.

"_Ancient silver tongue I call thee. Take me to the land where my spirit can be free to be what it was meant to be." _She read it carefully in an undertone, wondering what this could mean.

A mixture of a shrill-scream and car wheels screeching drowned the faint sound of shimmering bells and made Catherine's head snap up just in time to see a car lunging towards her out of control. She did not even have time to scream before the car collided with hers and everything went white before going black.

Catherine's eyes snapped open as she took in a deep gasping breath. She lunged forward and her forehead banged against the steering wheel.

"Ow! Dam it! Ow, ow, ow," Catherine moaned in pain, pressing her hands to her forehead.

For a moment Catherine was distracted by the pounding pain in her head, but suddenly she remembered what had happened and with a soft scream she looked up and looked herself through, searching for missing limbs and open, bleeding wounds. To her intense surprise the only wound she had right now was the bruise on her forehead which was beginning to swell and a thin line of blood was trailing down over her left eye. Carefully she wiped away the blood and quickly looked around. Her car seemed untouched, but what had her stunned was the scenery outside. She was in a forest lit only by the dim, last rays of the evening sun. She pressed her face to the window and saw that the threes around her were very tall and thick. Most of the leaves had fallen and there was a thin mantle of snow on the floor.

"What the hell?" she muttered, not believing her eyes. This was definitely not Boston. Catherine was in a state of shock. She opened the door and stepped out of the car. Her misty breath created large clouds of ice cold breath, yet in her state, she did not notice how cold it was. Catherine looked around her, searching for the street where she had been driving- she thought- a while ago, but there was none. She could see no streets, no cars and no people. She could hear nothing but night noises. Finally Catherine came into her senses and she realized she was standing in the middle of a forest, freezing cold and alone. Catherine realized she was shivering and groaned in complain of the cold. She walked back to her car and pulled out her winter pea coat, scarf and gloves. She then sat in the passenger seat and dialed her phone to call her mother. She growled when after second attempts the line was cut off before it even had a chance to go out. After she had been cut off for the third time, Catherine lost her patience and cursed loudly, using all sorts of colorful language.

Catherine moaned and buried her face in her hands. For a while she sat there trying to compose herself and think of what to do next. Finally she decided she needed to move since staying in the car freezing to death was no good. She looked around but realized she could not drive through the trees since there was not enough space between them for her car to pass. It took her a while to decide to get out of the car and walk to see if maybe further ahead there were any signs of people. There was not much lighting out now since night had fallen, but the moon was almost full so there was just enough light to see what was a few feet ahead.

Catherine left the car and turned on the light of her phone. She began walking forward careful not to lose sight of her car. She had walked some fifteen feet when she heard the snap of a dry twig. She swung around and pointed the light at a bush. The sound of a crude growl made the hair at the back of her neck stand. She felt her body go cold and her head felt light. She began to back away slowly in the direction of the car. As she did this, a pair of yellow eyes appeared and another growl sounded louder. Her feet began to back away with increasing speed as her breathing became heavier by the second. Suddenly a wolf broke out of the bush. It stared at her for a moment, giving her time to break into a run before it gave chase. Catherine ran at high speed, her feet seeming to have rocket boosters in them. She hear the wolf gaining, its growls and angry barks sounding each time closer. Catherine whimpered in terror as she felt the beast getting closer. She could see her car. She made one last attempt at pushing her legs beyond their normal capacity of speed and lunged for the car. She did not even stop as her hand reached for the handle as she crashed inside the back seat and at the same time brought the door to a close. The wolf, however, had its head already in the car, but Catherine had used such strength to close the door that the creature howled in pain when its head was smashed between the door and the car. This gave Catherine the time to kick the animal out and close the door. She jumped to sit and lock the door when the wolf jumped to the glass window, barking and growling furiously and making Catherine scream and jump back and hit her head against the other glass window, yet she was so terrified that she did not even realize it. She began to scramble through her baggage to find something to defend herself. She found a small kitchen knife she had brought since last time she left it in the apparent it was use as a dart in a game and she found the refrigerator pierced. Catherine held the knife tightly and snuck between the seats.

It was a long and cold night. Catherine had pulled out a blanket from her luggage and wrapped herself in it in an attempt to save herself from freezing to death. When the sun rays filled the car with light, Catherine stirred and moaned under her cover. Still frightened, she carefully sat up and looked out the window. There was no sign of the wolf. She had stopped hearing it growl and pace after about two hours since it had gone after her, but she had been too afraid to even check. Now that the sun was up and the wolf was gone, Catherine decided she needed to get out of there. She emptied her backpack from everything except one medium size notebook and a pen. Then she filled it with all the can food and other snack she had, just one extra set of clothes, the most basic personal hygiene items, and a blanket since nothing else fitted with the amount of food she stuffed in it. She found a bottle of Pepsi she had not finished and tucked it along with the other things. She had her black pea coat, a red, long-sleeves shirt and under that a thinner, white, long-sleeves shirt. She wore leggings under her grey jeans, black gloves and scarf and grey winter boots.

With the knife on her hand and a heavy backpack, Catherine set out to find a way out of the forest. She walked slowly, her feet aching within the first hour. Her back was not doing so well either since her backpack was heavy. After three hours of walking, Catherine's legs gave beneath her and she stumbled to the floor, falling on her hands and knees with a tired gasp. Catherine slides her backpack off and allows herself to fall flat on the ground, the knife closely beside her.

"Dam it. I need to start going to the gym," she muttered breathlessly.

Catherine had drank all the Pepsi almost as soon as she had begun her journey and she had replaced it with snow which had melted to become drinkable water. She swallowed all she had in her bottle and refilled it. She took out a can of sausages and ate it along with Ritz. After that she continued her journey. Long hours passed but Catherine seemed to be getting nowhere. Suddenly Catherine stopped and looked around her almost frantically. She studied her surroundings carefully. Her breath became heavy and she let out a curse to the sky when she realized this was the third time she passed beside the same large threes with the swirly roots that seemed to make the image of a fat lady sleeping on the ground.

"Come on, God! Why on Earth is this happening to me?!"

Catherine kicked the snow from the floor and sat down, exasperated. Her head then snapped up and she looked to the sky. It was getting dark, which meant wolves would be prowling the area very soon. She felt her body cold from the inside out at the thought of facing another monster like that and she dashed to her feet and looked around, searching for a place to be safe for the night. She looked up at the threes and decided that was her best chance for the night, so she climbed on the one with the thickest branch so she could have a better chance of not falling off during her sleep. It was a terribly cold night. Catherine was wrapped in her coat and blanket but it was not enough to fight the harsh winter winds of the night. Her head was beginning to ache, though she had gotten used to having headaches out of the blues so she buried herself in the blanket and tried to ignore the pain and just sleep.

The next morning Catherine's head ached had diminished. She took out another can of sausages for breakfast, but when she opened it, she found that the contents was frozen. She began to curse and complain and from every ten words, eight were curses. She began to walk around the area, searching for wood to try to start a fire. As she picked up branches she heard the slightest sound and spun around frantically.

"Hello?!" she yelled. "Hello!"

There was no answer. For a moment Catherine was tense, expecting to see another wolf come out of the bushes and she held her knife in her hand tightly. She then felt that she was being observed and spun around. She yelped when she saw a man standing about two and a half meters away. He was very tall, taller than any man Catherine remembered seeing before. He looked to be somewhere in his late forties, though for some reason she thought that his face looked very handsome for his apparent age. He had wavy, brown hair down to his shoulders and blue eyes. But what really called her attention was that he was wearing some sort of Renaissance Festival costume. It looked very real, and the sword on his belt looked even more real. Another sound from behind made Catherine turn around. She saw two more men, one that looked to be in his early forties and with an extremely handsome and roguish face, with dark hair and stunning green eyes, and the other who looked hardly a year older than herself, with shoulder length, pale blonde hair and blue eyes, also very handsome. When she turned to look at the first man, she saw that two more were by his side. One looked very old with greyish hair and tired blue eyes, but strong enough to punch another man out with a single fist, and another who looked just a few years older than herself, with long, wavy, black hair and grey eyes. But what was really off here was that they were all wearing Renaissance Festival costumes and their weapons looked too real.

There was something else that caught her attention, the smell of blood and grime. Catherine swallowed hard. What had she gotten herself into? A group of super model Renaissance Festival cosplayers who were either so fanatic that they did not bathing and use something to fake the smell of blood, or actually killed something or someone, just to make themselves smell like blood. Maybe they were just crazy, wild men who lived in this forest and she was just in time for their "fun" time. She felt faint at the mere thought of it.

Just as she was about to try to say something, she heard the sound of approaching hooves. She turned around to meet the new comers. Catherine felt she had been slapped across the face, for the sight before her was the most stunning she had ever seen. Two stunningly beautiful men, physically identical to one another, were sitting on black horses. They both had very long, dark, straight hair that had been braided in complicated braids. They had the most stunning silver-grey eyes she had ever seen. Their complexion was utterly flawless and their bodies looked strong and muscular even under their winter clothing. The only difference between them was that one wore pale blue and silver grey while the other had darker blue and grey.

One of the twins, which is what she assumed they were, spoke. His voice was like the sound of a thousand silver bells, strong, but gentle and musical and the most beautiful sound she had ever heard. It made her go into a trance for a moment, but when she came through she realized she could not understand a word he had just said.

"Uh, hello. Do you speak English?" Seeing their confused expressions, she continued. "No? Well, Habla Español? Paral Italiano?! And that is all I know! What language do you speak?! Where the hell am I that you do not know English?!"

The men exchanged confused and curious glances. Catherine could hear them exchanging words but she could not even tell what language they spoke. As she looked them over, her eyes were suddenly fixed on the arm of one of the twins. It had a bandage around it which was stained with blood. Her eyes widened with fear. How had he gotten that? It was a bad gash. Who were these strange people?! The man realized Catherine was staring at his wounded arm and placed a hand over it as if confused as to why she was eying it so much. Catherine looked around, the men seemed to have come to a conclusion. They were smiling, or rather smirking, which made Catherine's fear grow.

"Dam it, dam it!" she muttered angrily. In her mind she could see only one reason for a group of seven men to smirk around a lost woman. _'I have to get out of here!'_ She thought urgently. She looked at her backpack. It was just a few feet away. In there she had all chance she had of surviving. The men had begun to close the circle around her. This was the time to act. Taking a deep breath, Catherine charged towards her backpack. She picked it up and with a mad scream and dashed into the forest, leaving a group of stunned men behind.

"What just happened?" asked the man with green eyes, surprise clear in his eyes and voice.

"I am not sure, Cathalon, but I believe she thought the worst from us. Should we go after her?" said the man who had first arrived at the scene where Catherine had been.

"I think we should," said the oldest of them. "She looks indeed lost."

"I agree," said Cathalon. "She must be very far from home, for I have never seen her likeness anywhere. But we must be careful. As Bemor said, she seems to think the worst of us. What do you think, Amener? How should we approach her?" he asked the old man.

"I think we have to make sure we have her first, which we will not if we stay here any longer. She dashed away at the speed of a frightened deer."

Catherine could hear the sound of her own heart drumming against her ears. She looked back to see if she was being followed and for a moment it looked like she had lost them. Suddenly she saw figures break from behind the trees like spirits of the forest. Had she not been running for her life, she would have admired their abilities to blend with the forest. She heard them yelling things in the strange language but she didn't slow nor stop.

"Miss! Miss please, come back! We will not hurt you!" Bemor yelled as he ran along with his companions.

"Are we truly chasing a lady through the forest?" asked the youngest of them there.

"I say it is an improvement, young Dyrin!" exclaimed Amener. "We need something else to chase besides orcs!"

There was a round of laughter.

"Aye," said the second youngest man. "But what do we do with this one once she is caught? She is not an orc, so how do we decide what-" but he was cut off by Amener.

"Careful with your thoughts, Seobryn, lest you wish to be assignment to stable duty when we return."

"What?! I said nothing and I did not mean what you-" said the boy all too quickly, but the smirk on the old man's face plus the snickers coming from the others made him stop in confusion, only to realize it had been just a bad joke. Seobryn flushed brightly and looked away, making his companions laugh.

"It appears that you five are not fast enough to catch up to her," said the twin with the light blue and grey garments, "so my brother and I will run ahead and get her,"

"You elves with your superior abilities mentalities!" exclaimed Bemor, faking exasperation.

The twins smiled mischievously before exchanging looks and darting ahead, secretly racing each other.

"Those two never stop amusing me," said Amener with a fatherly tone.

"Aye, and Elladan never learns that Elrohir is much faster than him and will always beat him by an arrow shot," said Cathalon with an affectionate smile.

The five men laughed. There was silence for a moment as they ran and in this silence they all exchanged looks. Their eyes became challenging before they all began to race one another.

Catherine could hear approaching laughter. For some reason their laugh made her heart tighten with terror for she could imagine the enjoyment they were planning on having once they caught her. Her lungs seemed to have closed and her legs burned with pain. She began to slow down, which made her whimper in despair as she did her best to continue going. As a last attempt at running, Catherine dropped her backpack to lighten her weight. As she pushed herself to the limit, she saw a flash of dark blue and grey before finding herself before one of the twins. She tried her best to make a corner turn but she was too close to him and she ended up tripping and falling hard on the ground, the knife flying out of her hand. She groaned in pain for a moment before she remembered what was happening. When she saw the man leaning over her she screamed and threw kicks at him. The man dodged them easily and stepped away with his hands in front of his chest and his palms facing her as a sign of piece which Catherine did not register. She got up and began to run again but the man caught her wrist, making her scream in terror.

"Let me go!" she shrieked. The man released her wrist, but she stumbled back and fell again. She was about to try to run again when she realized that she was surrounded by all seven men. Catherine then shrunk into a fetus position and shielded herself with her arms.

"Please don't hurt me! Please, please, please, please!" she begged in tears.

Catherine heard words being spoken to her. Some were the melodious voices of the twins and other were deeper and rougher, coming from the other men. The voices sounded gentle, but she was too afraid to see it.

"Miss, please, it is alright. We will not hurt you," said one of the twins.

"Easy for her to believe you, Elrohir. You made her fall like a catapulted stone," said Elladan, half serious, half mocking.

Elrohir glared at his brother before crouching beside Catherine and lightly placing his hand on her shoulder. The mere act made her stiffen like a stone.

"Miss, it is alright. Get up. We can help you."

Elrohir gently but firmly tugged at Catherine's arm, making her look up to him. He offered her a gentle smile which left Catherine stunned and speechless for a moment, both because she did not expect it from him and because his beauty surpassed all that seemed humanly possible. Elrohir took this chance and pulled her to her feet. Catherine slowly came out of her trance. She was stiff as a stone as her eyes traveled to study each of the men. As she did, she realized they really did not look hostile towards her. There was a hint of worry and curiosity in most of them; the others just looked at her without clear emotion. Lastly, her eyes reached the other twin behind her. She stared at him, not believing that such beauty was created not once but twice. They were breathtaking indeed.

As Catherine looked around herself, she felt a small smile tugging at her lips. This was truly an out of this world experience. She was surrounded by the most beautiful men she had ever seen, and two of them did not even look human but angelic. She wondered then if there was a possibility that she was really just dreaming while her body was in the hospital in a coma state or maybe even frozen in some part of the forest. But the cold, the hunger, tiredness and pain she felt were too real to be a dream. She wanted to laugh and cry at the same time. This was all too overwhelming for her.

"What do we do now?" asked Bemor.

"I honestly do not know," said Elladan. "She does not understand us, and she is not yet over her fear of us. See how she trembles."

It was true, Catherine was trembling slightly in fear. She was at a lost as to what to do now. She was lost, hungry, cold and scared half to death. She could not understand a word from them and she did not trust them yet at all. It was hard considering their attire and the lack of proper communication due to the difference in language.

All the men exchanged looks. Amener walked forward and stood some three feet from her. He bowed his head slightly with his hand over his heart in greetings. The gesture, though completely odd for Catherine, was understood by her. She bit her lower lip as she observed the old man. He had one of those 'loving grandfather' faces, if only he didn't smell of blood and grime.

"Can you understand me?" Amener said, but Catherine just stared at him with a blank expression.

"She is definitely not from around here," said Cathalon, making Catherine look at him. Apart from the twins, this man was the most handsome of the group. Yet his face was quite hard and a bit stern, which kind of scared her. Yet she could not help feeling a bit giddy, being surrounded by so many handsome men. "We cannot just stay here all day staring at her," said Cathalon.

"Aye, but what do we do?" asked Bemor.

Elladan walked towards her. He stared at her for a moment, trying to figure out a way of communicating with her. While he did this, Catherine decided this was going nowhere and that she needed to get away as soon as possible.

"Um, it was nice meeting you, but I need to go now, so bye," she said while taking a few steps back, her index fingers pointing away as she tried to tell them she was leaving.

Elladan saw where her fingers were pointing and narrowed his eyes.

"Archet? Is that where you wish to go?" he said while pointing to the same direction as she.

Catherine was quite cunning and clever so she could quickly understand that there was something in that direction after all. Considering that the first thing he said was a one word question, she could decipher that this was the name of whatever place was there.

"Yes, yes, Archet," she replied, hoping she was not just saying something folly.

"Apparently she wishes to go to Archet," said Elrohir.

"But why Archet? There is really nothing there," Seobryn said.

"There is people there, Seobryn. Perhaps she is searching for someone," Amener said.

Through this time, Catherine had been slowly walking backwards. Elrohir was aware of it and chuckled. The sound made Catherine's hair crawl, it was so beautiful and surreal.

"I think our lady here really wishes to leave," Elrohir said with amusement.

"Then let us take her there. She should not be traveling alone," said Bemor.

Elladan nodded and whistled and two seconds later both black horses came galloping. Elladan then extended a hand to her. Catherine quickly took a step back, raising her hands breast height and gently waving them, trying to tell them it was okay.

"No, no, I'm fine. I'll go myself. Thank you." Catherine was not in the mood of traveling with a bunch of weird dresses men, no matter how handsome they all were. As she walked away she noticed that the youngest of the group had her backpack. Her eyes were wide with fear of him not giving it back, but Dyrin saw her eyes on the pack and understood. Slowly so to not scare her, he walked to her and gave her the backpack. Catherine took in and muttered a thank you.

"She does not want us to take her," said Elladan.

"We cannot let her wonder around alone," said Cathalon. "She is not from these parts. She could be a spy of the enemy."

"What do you think, Amener?" asked Bemor. "You are the oldest Dunedai among us. You have seen more than we. What does she look like to you?"

"I do not get the impression that she is a spy, not with the way she reacted to us. A spy should be careful not to be seen or call the attention and she has done the complete opposite. Besides, she was only armed with a small knife, that is hardly a weapon against an enemy. But she is definitely interesting. I have never seen clothes like hers, nor heard the language or accent."

"Then should we take her with us?" asked Cathalon.

"I think we should," said Amener.

There was a short moment of silence before Elrohir spoke.

"Nay, I think we should let her be."

Everyone in the group looked at him with confused looks.

"Why is that?" asked Bemor.

Elrohir simply looked at his brother. Elladan nodded to him in understanding.

"Let us let her be, for now."

The tone he used made the other man understand that there was a good reason for it and nodded. Catherine was still backing away when Elrohir came close to her. She stopped, wondering what he wanted. Elrohir took her hand brought it to his lips to place a light kiss one it. Catherine had tried to pull away, but when his lips touched her hand, she felt a sudden lightheadedness take over and her face burned bright red. Elrohir smiled, yet there was something hidden in that smile, a triumph or a feeling of victory. As soon as his hand loosened, Catherine pulled it back quickly against her heart, holding it as if it burned or as if it had been contaminated by the act, yet the man lost not his smile as he backed away. He extended his hand, offering her knife back. Catherine took it and quickly turned and hastily walked away.

The rest of the men walked away, returning to whence they came.

"It looks like the strange woman caught your interest, Elrohir," Elladan teased.

"She did, but not in the way you believe," he replied with a small smirk.

"Why did you do that?" Elladan asked with more seriousness.

"I wanted to examine something, and I think I got what I wanted. Did you see her reaction? She was completely bewildered. Another woman would have not reacted this way, even if she was afraid. This one acted as though the act was something abnormal, something she is not accustomed to. Does she not, in a way, remind you of someone?"

Elladan's eyes narrowed as he thought for a moment.

"You are right. This is strange indeed."

"When does your wife return from Lothlorien? She is the only one who can really help us here."

"She will not be back until spring."

"That is too far away. We will need to do this ourselves."

"Aye," said Elladan.

Elladan looked over his shoulder, his farsighted vision catching Catherine as she walked towards Archet.

* * *

**I cannot say just how happy it makes me to post new stories. It's such a fulfilling thing to see my stories take shape and know that others enjoy them.**

**Leave all the reviews and comments you want. I humbly accept constructive criticism, but please, if you simply dislike the story, then there is no need to read it.**

**The next few chapters are done and I just need to revise them so expect a few updates soon, though I am working on several other stories so if for a moment you don't see an update, don't think I've dropped the story. I have never dropped a story nor will I ever do so.**


	2. Chapter 2

**Hello. To all who have followed and favorite this story I thank you deeply. I thank once more those who commented and reviewed. It's always a pleasure to know what you think of the story.**

**Once again I remind you in case you ever see something that don't get well, this is linked to the story "When dawn breaks I will still be there", and it makes a few references to it, but nothing major and all will be explained in the future, so there's no need to necessarily read it, although if you wish to do so then great! It's Elladan's story before this happened.**

**Chapter 2**

The men were settled around a small fire, trying to fight the harsh winds of the night. The two elves were standing some feet away from the group, muttering quietly between each other.

"It has been a while since those two began their secret council. I wonder what has them so worked up," Cathalon said before taking a bite of bread and chewing it slowly.

"They know something we do not," Amener said, his old eyes cast on the small sparks of fire. "There is something truly odd about that young woman, but it cannot be evil if the two Lords allowed her to leave freely. We should trust their judgment."

"I trust them with my life!" Cathalon exclaimed. "But I wish they would trust us enough to tell us what is happening."

"It is probably something concerning the elves. They have secrets we will never know, and perhaps do not wish to know. Let them be! They will talk to us if it is necessary."

"She was pretty though," Seobryn said. The men looked at him with raised eyebrows. "What? Are you saying she was not?"

"She was a fine young woman, probably around Dyrin's age. You are twenty three, right?"

"Aye," Dyrin replied.

Seobryn smirked, his eyes distant as he thought.

"Do not get that dirty mind of yours in places it should not be, Seobryn," Beron said with a stern tone.

"What?! It is not what you think! Why is it that everything I say or do you judge it in this way?"

"Because we know you are young and the ladies are in your mind as much as they are hoping to get in your bed. You know they chase you and swoon for you, but you need to learn to be more prudent and mature. Besides, she did not strike me as your type."

"Aye, she looks more like Dyrin's kind," said Amener, teasingly.

Dyrin looked up, a slight flush colored his cheeks, but it was easily hidden with the reflection of the red flames. Seobryn rolled his eyes, annoyed that his companion was so shy and quiet.

The two elven princess came into the light of the fire and sat with their companions.

"Is there something we should know?" Beron asked.

"There is nothing certain," said Elladan. "My brother and I were simply discussing past events to try to see if there is a connection. For now, what we have helps us little. We know she is not from anywhere near here, but where she comes from we do not know."

"Why did you let her go alone then?" Amener asked.

"Because we thought that if we are to learn who she is, we must observe her from a distance to give her the chance to act willingly," Elrohir said. "If we took her with us we would have gained little, for there was no communication between us. This way we may see who she is when she thinks we are not looking."

"But we are not looking," Cathalon said.

"Be we will," Elladan replied. "Tomorrow we shall follow her to Archet."

Catherine walked for what felt like an eternity. She was not aware that she had passed by the same place several times now, each time coming from a different point. She was lost and desperate. She had hoped to find a town by now, but there was not a single sign of civilized life anywhere. She had tried to make a fire but no matter how hard she tried, not a single spark came from the two trigs she had so fervently rubbed with each other, so she was left with no fire to unmelt her canned food and so she had to resource to eat a Butterfinger bar and a few cookies, which were not enough to give her the energy she needed to continue. Night fell for Catherine and she had to once again find a comfortable tree to climb on to keep herself away from any wild animal that might find her as an easy meal.

"We should have not let her out of our sight! We should have followed her closely," Cathalon growled as company rode away from Archet.

"She could have been found by a wild beast before she arrived. She did not look prepared to defend herself properly," Bemor said.

"We have to find her. Who knows where she is or what she is doing," Ameron said.

"We will. She cannot be far," Elladan said.

"This is what happens when we do not do things the right way from the start!" Cathalon snapped.

"There is a reason for this. My brother and I know things we cannot divulge even to you who are our close friends."

"Calm yourself, Cathalon," said Ameron. "We will find her soon. We are on mounts while she is on foot. Let us just return to where we last saw her and follow her tracks."

The company quickly arrived at the scene where they had left Catherine and quickly followed her tracks.

"She is lost alright!" Bemor exclaimed. "Her tracks lead to the same places over and over, and every time it is only a few meters away from the last time."

"What is that?!" Dyrin asked, his voice almost a whisper as if the question had been meant only for himself. The men looked at where his eyes were staring and saw what he meant.

"What in the name of all the stars is that thing?!" Cathalon breathed.

The company carefully approached the strange object that was apparently left abandoned in the middle of the forest. Elladan gasped and everyone quickly looked at him. He had gone ahead of the company and his brother followed closely, his eyes holding the same amount of shock as his brother's. The way the two elves displayed their surprise was very different from the five men and they noticed it. For the five it was an expression of surprise of something new and utterly unknown, but for the twins, it seemed as though they were looking at something they knew but never expected to see here. The five men caught up with the elves who were inspecting the item. Elladan quickly opened a door and inspected the inside while his brother observed him, apparently not knowing what to do compared to Elladan.

"You seem to know well what this is. Care to explain it to us?" Cathalon asked, his voice betraying his anger at being left in the dark of this secret.

Elrohir turned to look at him, his face reflected concern and unease.

"Elladan?" Elrohir called, silently asking his brother what they should do now.

Elladan stood out from the item and looked at the men who were waiting for answers.

Catherine was exhausted. She had been living out of cookies and sweets since her canned food was frozen and she had not managed to make a fire. She was tired and desperate. She knew she needed something to feed herself apart from sweets so she decided to try once more to make a fire, plus the night was drawing near and it was colder than it had been since she arrived. She gathered all the items she needed and began to rub the stick together. Time after time she had to stop since her hands ached, but she would try once more. Catherine cried out in pain and dropped the sticks to look at her hands. The skin had peeled off in some parts of her palms because of the friction. Anger built inside of her and she got to her feet and looked at the sky.

"God, this isn't funny! I don't know what I did to deserve this or if this is just Your sense of humor, but I want You to end this now!"

At that very moment the sound of many feet approaching made Catherine turn around. She thought her heart had frozen when she saw what was approaching her. Some meters away a group of horrifying man-monsters were standing, looking at her. The only human characteristic they possessed was the basic shape of the body. The rest was just made out of dark or sickly pale skin with scars and wounds. Their eyes were either very dark or yellow and they wore dark armor and had ugly looking swords and other weapons. Catherine was rooted to the floor until some of the beast began to roar before running towards her. That was when Catherine's brain went into major emergency mode and she began to run as if hell was upon her. She did not know how she could reach such a speed, but her legs were moving like a cheetah's.

"This is not what I meant by '_end this now_!'" she exclaimed as she looked back at the things that were chasing her with blood lust in their eyes. "God I am sorry, please I want to live, I am sorry," she kept repeating helplessly.

Catherine dodged and ducked trees and branches at the speed of lightning, but her luck seemed to run out when she tripped over a root. She was lunged into the air before falling and rolling on the floor. The air was knocked right out of her and for a moment she struggled to open her lunges. She was aware that the footsteps were getting closer and closer but she could not stand yet as she desperately tried to get air into her system. She heard screeching behind her but could not turn. The sound of galloping hooves joined in with the angry growls and screeches. Suddenly Catherine felt a hand hold her tightly by the shoulder while her backpack was forced off her and a hand slammed against her back. Catherine gasped painfully but that was enough to open her lungs and finally she was able to breath. She looked up at the worried face of the youngest member of the group of men from the other day. She stared at him wide eyed, but he only nodded when he saw she was alright and ran in the direction from which she had come and drew his sword and quickly began to slice his way through the ugly beasts.

Catherine gasped in horror at the scene. The rest of the men were on their horses or on the ground while fighting the beasts, hacking and slicing them open. Then the creatures started to come near her and she gasped in fear. She had no idea where her knife was since she had dropped it when she fell. She got to her feet and tried to run away, when she saw one of the twins charge with his horse towards the beasts and kill them. She yelped when he pulled her onto his horse. She screamed when a group of the creatures approached the horse. The rider began to hack and slice them, but Catherine was not about to stay anywhere near them. Her mind was on survival mode, and right now that meant getting away, so she jumped off the horse while the rider was too busy fighting the things and darted towards the forest, not bothering to retrieve her backpack.

The rider gasped silently in fret as he saw Catherine.

"Elladan!" he called out, not being able to go after her since too many enemies were upon him.

Elladan turned to look at his brother and saw him pointing at Catherine, but he too was surrounded and could not go after her.

Elrohir turned to look where she had gone to and gasped.

"Elladan! Orcs went after her!"

All of the men from the company turned to Elrohir, but none was able to break free of the circle of orcs that were surrounding them.

Catherine ran like hell. Her mind was in a frenzy. She was in a terror she had never experience before and right now the only thought in her mind was 'run'. Catherine heard the sound of a whistling arrow but before she could even turn her head to look, she felt a searing pain in her leg and she fell with an agonizing scream. Tears fell uncontrollably from her eyes as she looked at her leg left. Her calf had been pierced from behind. She cried out and her cries came out in sharp gasps. A burning pain began to crawl up and down her leg as if the blood that flowed in her veins had turned into fire, and at the same time purplish black color started to spread up and down her leg. Her mind became a frantic mess of pain and fear. She looked up when she heard the cruel laughter of three orcs that had followed her. She cried out in fear and tried to crawl away. The orcs laughed and followed her closely, enjoying her helplessness and terror.

"It thinks it can crawl away. The little slug knows not what is coming to it."

"Aye. It looks afraid, but it does not yet know what true terror is. We will show it pain, we will show it fear. It will beg for death, and we shall give it to it, right boys?"

The orcs laughed mockingly and they came close enough to grab her by the hair. Catherine yelped in pain and fear as she was lifted from the ground and was left suspended by the hair.

"Pretty little thing, aren't you? Not for long. We will make good sport out of you," the creature growled in her ear.

Catherine began to shake violently, she wanted to scream but her voice failed her. Suddenly she was dropped to the floor and the orc that had been holding her fell an inch beside her, almost crushing her. She saw an arrow protruding from its head. The image would hunt her for years to come. She heard screeching and when she looked up she saw that the other orcs were dead. Catherine heard running footsteps coming towards her and her head snapped in the direction they were coming from and saw two of the men from before.

"Cathalon, she needs tending, now!" Seobryn yelled.

Cathalon ran and crouched beside them and looked her over. Catherine was sweating profusely. He placed a hand on her brown and removed it quickly.

"She is burning. The arrow was poisoned. We need the elves now."

"They are still in the fight."

"Go help them then!"

Seobryn nodded and darted in the direction he had come. Cathalon began to search in his pack for the items they would need to help her. Not two minutes after Seobryn had left, he arrived with the rest of the company. Catherine was breathing in chocked gasps, her eyes were wide open but she was not staring at anything. Elladan quickly knelt beside her and gave the wound a quick check with his eyes.

"Elrohir, hold her shoulders. Bemor, hold her good leg. Cathalon, have everything ready for me, please," Elladan ordered and everyone quickly obeyed.

As soon as Elrohir pressed his hand on Catherine's shoulders she gasped and tried to push him away. She was not aware of her actions anymore, all her mind could register was hostility. Bemor held her right leg firmly and Catherine began to struggle blindly to get free.

"We are here to help you. Do not be frightened," Elrohir said, trying to sound soothing, but Catherine would not listen. She was becoming delusional and even though she could see who they were, her mind was transforming those images into black shapes, so she was struggling between which was real right now.

Elladan growled angrily.

"What is it?" Cathalan asked with narrowed eyes.

"The arrowhead was never smoothened. It is full of little hooks and other misshapes that will make it harder to remove."

"Dammed orcs!" Bemor muttered.

"Hold her. I will do this as quickly as I can."

Everyone nodded. Elladan held Catherine's leg and the mere touch made her cry out in pain. Elladan's fingers probed the arrow head as gently as he could. Catherine let out a high-pitched scream of agony. Her back arched even as Elrohir and Bemor held her down. She tossed around, screaming and tossing her arms. Elrohir held her shoulders firmly to avoid her moving anything above her elbows. Elladan's face was hard and concentrated as his fingers released the parts of her skin that were caught in the hooks of the arrowhead.

"I can pull it out now. Hold her well."

Elladan began to pull the arrow out. Catherine's eyes widened and a choked cry escaped her lips. She continued to choke on her cries, not able to decide whether she would scream or gasp. Her arms flung around wildly until they found Elrohir's arm. She grasped his arm with a death grip, her fingers clutching the soft fabric of his sleeve and almost tearing it, which she would have if this had not been elven cloth. She pressed her forehead against his arm, still not able to scream or gasp properly. Final, after what felt like endless hours but were merely seconds, the arrow was out. Catherine was shaking violently and was having trouble breathing. Elrohir quickly lifted her by the back of her neck to open her respiratory system. She gasped for breath, sounding almost like a chocking animal. She could hardly get any oxygen into her lungs and her skin was beginning to darken, her lips turning bluish.

"You must breathe!" Elrohir exclaimed, placing a hand on her forehead and sending her healing and calming energy.

At that moment Catherine began to relax and breathe properly. She continued to shudder and shake violently, but all would be well now. Her head was now spinning, she looked into Elrohir's eyes before sighing deeply and her body sunk to the ground looking almost as if she had died. Elrohir was not aware that she was still gripping his arm until her hands fell limp on the ground.

"Will she make it?" Seobryn asked, his voice heavy with worry.

Elladan did not answer immediately but held out his hand to Cathalon who handed him a vial. He then moved to her side and raised her and forced a transparent green colored liquid down her throat. Almost immediately Catherine's skin regained some color. He quickly held out his hand once more and Cathalon gave him another vial. Elladan took some cream from it and rubbed it in the wound. A few seconds later the purplish black colors that had been spreading from the wound began to slowly fade away.

Elladan sighed and sat back, resting a hand on his knee.

"She will live."

"What shall we do now?" Bemor asked.

"We should make camp for the night," Amener said.

"Should we not head to Archet?" Cathalon asked.

"We are on the far West side of Chetwood. It will be a long ride to Archet and she is in no condition to travel. She needs rest and a warm fire. Come, let us find a place to settle for the night."

"I think I know where we should camp tonight," said Elladan as he stood and picked Catherine in his arms.

**This is far shorter than the first chapter, but it's only because the first chapter was meant to be two and it was meant to stop when the accident happened, but I thought it was better to make it as one.**

**Reviews and comments are always welcomed.**


	3. Chapter 3

**Thanks again to all who have read, reviewed, followed and/or favorited this. It means a lot to me.**

**Chapter 3**

Catherine felt her head was about to split open. She could not move, she could not open her eyes, she was not aware of anything but the darkness and pain that was about her. A while later, the memories of what happened came back. Catherine was able to open her eyes. The first thing she saw was the fire that was blazing two feet from her. She realized her body was sprawled on the floor. The distant sound of voices reached her ears, yet her mind was not registering it.

"Look, she is awake!" Dyrin exclaimed.

"Is she truly conscious? She looks half in dreams," Bemor said, looking at her expressionless face.

Elrohir knelt beside her and leaned over her. Slowly as if in a dream, Catherine turned her face to look at the young elven Prince. She stared blankly at him, blinking several times, trying to remember his face. Several faces came into her view, but she simply stared blankly at the all.

"Did the poison affect her mind?" Seobryn asked, concern in his voice.

"Give her some time," Elladan said with hope.

Indeed, all she needed was some time to let her mind awake from the horrible nightmare that had almost claimed her life. Little by little, Catherine's eyes focused on the faces, and in her eyes recognition lit. Her eyes opened wide as she finally recognized everyone around her.

All the men smiled and chuckled with relief.

"She is back," Catheron said as he stood up and gave her some space. The other did the same.

As Catherine sat up she hissed and flung her hands to the wound on her leg.

"Careful," said a soft, musical voice and Catherine looked at the face of Elrohir who was smiling gently at her. Her eyes moved to her own hands when she felt his soft yet strong hands holding hers and removing them from the wound and placing them on her lap.

"Who are you?" she asked, forgetting for a moment that they could not communicate.

Elrohir looked at his brother with concern.

"Can you not remember anything you once knew about the language?"

"Unfortunately no. It was Adar's magic that helped me understand while I was there."

Elrohir sighed and moved away from her.

Catherine observed her surroundings. She was still in the forest and it was nighttime. Catherine sat up slowly. Her eyes scanned the area and stopped at the sight of her car. She stared at as she thought intently. Her eyes narrowed and she got up, wincing in pain.

"You should not put pressure on it," said Elrohir, though knowing she could not understand, and quickly walking over to try to put her back on the floor.

"No, I need to get over there. I need to retrieve something," she said urgently while pointing at the car.

The urgent tone in her voice made Elrohir understand. He nodded and bent a little to pick Catherine into his arms.

When Catherine realized his intention she wriggled herself from his hold, her cheeks slightly flushing pink, which could be easily mistaken with the glow of the fire.

"No, thank you, but I can walk," she said while hopping away from him.

It was a comical thing to see. Catherine opened her arms for balance and slowly made her way to the car. From behind, the men had to bite their lips or cover their mouths to avoid laughing. Elrohir smiled, holding a chuckle and looked back at his brother with an amused expression. Elladan smiled back, obviously holding in a laugh as he shook his head.

"Go help her at least."

Elrohir nodded and walked over to Catherine who was hardly a few feet ahead of him.

"Miss," he said, trying to get Catherine's attention.

Catherine turned her head to see the twin place himself beside her and cross an arm under her arms and holding her right arm to steady her. Catherine used her left hand to hold Elrohir's shoulder, and together they made it to the car. Catherine noticed that the lock was not on, but she gave little heed to that. She began to search in the driver's seat for something. She exclaimed triumphantly when she found what she was looking for.

Catherine sat on the driver's seat and turned on the light of the car. She held up the little book and studied it carefully. _Argentum Lingua._ She knew Latin well enough because her aunt had taught her when she was little. Catherine opened the book and studied the picture of the man. He looked similar to the men around her. Then she silently read the words that she had read before the accident that had apparently brought her here.

_"__Ancient silver tongue I call thee. Take me to the land where my spirit can be free to be what it was meant to be."_

She read it once, twice and thrice, but it just didn't make sense. This could not have been what led her here, though it had been the last thing she saw before the accident. She flipped the page and saw numbered sentences, all written in Latin. The first one seemed too convenient, but she decided she had nothing to lose.

_"__Ancient silver tongue I call on thee. May I understand the language that surrounds me."_

Catherine stiffened when she thought she heard the sound of shimmering bells. Now she could remember it, the faint sound of bells that she had not noticed the first time because it had been drowned by the sound of the screeching car.

"What is she doing?"

"She is reading something."

"I can see that! The question is _why_ is she reading in a time like this?"

Catherine froze in her seat when she realized she could understand them perfectly even though she knew that the language was utterly unknown to her. Her fists tightened around the little book and she bit her lower lip. Slowly, she turned her head to look with wide eyes at the men who were observing her.

The men quickly noticed the terrified look on Catherine's face and narrowed their eyes in wonder. They saw her swallow hard and even noticed her body quavering slightly.

"What is wrong with her?" asked Cathalon.

"She looks like she has realized something terrifying," said Amener.

There was a moment of silence while Catherine stared at them.

"I can understand," she said in such a low whisper that only the two elves were able to hear her.

The twins exchanged surprised looks before retuning their eyes to her.

"What did she say?" asked Seobryn who was standing the closest to her and had heard a fain whisper from her.

"She said she can understand. She spoke in Westron," said Elladan to the men.

"I can understand," she repeated once more before swiftly turning her eyes to the book and looking over the rest of the things that were written in it. She realized they were spells.

"How is this even possible? What on Earth is going on here? What…" she kept murmuring one question after the other, each time more breathlessly.

"Who are you?"

Catherine's head snapped towards the voice that had asked the question.

"Who are _you?" _she asked him.

"I am Elrohir, son of Elrond."

Catherine frowned deeply in confusion, the names sounding familiar.

"Wha…?" her eyes snapped open when she realized who the names belonged to. "Oh God," she breathed.

Catherine closed her eyes. She did not know what to do now. She didn't know who was crazy herself or him. But going over the events of the past few days and what was happening right now, she could not deny that perhaps there was something else here besides craziness. Catherine felt she was going to lose her mind if she didn't figure this out soon. Without warning, she reached for the open door through which she had gotten into the car and slammed it close and quickly pressed the lock to all the doors. She could hear words of surprise and confusion, but she did not care. There was knocking on her window but she ignored it as she quickly scanned the book for something that might help her. She quickly found something that interested her and read it out loud.

_"__Ancient silver tongue I call on thee. I humbly seek wisdom and knowledge in hopes of understanding."_

Catherine lifted her eyes to find herself in a white void. She gasped and looked around. Her eyes widened when she saw the figure of her aunt standing behind her with a wide smile on her face.

"Aunt Nair!"

Catherine ran towards her, forgetting the wound on her leg that had apparently disappeared without her noticing. Catherine crashed against her aunt's opened arms and held on to her like a small child needing to feel secured.

Nair laughed and held her child firmly.

"Come now Catherine, it could not be that bad that you would be acting like a scared child," said the old woman, teasingly.

"I don't know if you are real or if I am imagining this, but don't you dare go," Catherine said, desperately.

"That bad huh? Well then tell me all about it."

Catherine looked at her aunt with confusion. She sounded so optimistic, so cheerful as if she was asking Catherine to tell her how her trip to Disney World was.

"What do you mean?"

"I mean, how was your trip? You were sent to Middle earth were you not? I always wished I had been sent there, but alas, my destiny laid elsewhere."

"Wait, what? You knew? How?"

Nair smiled and pulled away from Catherine.

"Do you remember the stories I use to tell you when you were a child, about the Silver Tongues and their great adventures?"

Catherine nodded.

"Well, sweetheart, you are a Silver Tongue. In fact, everyone from my side of the family is one."

Catherine blinked several times, trying to fit the thought into her mind.

"You are… joking, right?"

Nair smiled gently, like one who wants to explain something to a four year old child. It would have annoyed Catherine had she not felt like a lost child.

"Listen well, Catherine. The stories I have told you about Silver Tongues are all real. Do you remember the one about the brother and sister who went to Camelot? That was your father and I. the line of Silver Tongues runs in our family."

"Wait, wait, wait," she paused for a moment. "It's just not possible!"

"Catherine, you just walked over Middle earth soil. That is enough proof that it is indeed possible."

_'__True'_, Catherine thought. "But, how? I don't get it. Those were stories, Middle earth were stories, Camelot… it doesn't make any sense. Silver Tongues, what does it mean that I am one?"

"You already know what Silver Tongues are. But it's been quite some years since last I told you a story about them. Let me refresh your memory and help you understand. This time do not think of them as stories, but as a Silver Tongues are a race of human beings with supernatural abilities. In most worlds we are what people call mages. Each Silver Tongue has a specific talent that will become their strongest ability. Your father was an Ice mage. It went from wielding ice and snow around him to creating terrible hail storms and casting ice blades. I am a flora mage. I can control any plant, from grass to vines and trees. My father was a fire mage, and so are you. I can tell because of your appearance. Each skills come with a set of characteristics in the person. For example, your father had golden hair and icy blue eyes. Those are ice mage characteristics. I have golden hair, but my eyes are green. These are weather mage characteristics. You, like your grandfather, have black hair and amber eyes, those are the characteristics of a fire mage.

There are many other skills, such as water, earth, air, nature, shape shifter, and other very powerful skills that are not linked with the elements such as the control of bodies, magic, alchemy, pure energy, healing and others. Among these there will be some that you will have no access to, probably mostly from the last I listed. We are called Silver Tongues because we have the ability to use speech to cast incantations, use magic and even enchantments. There are different languages used by the Silver Tongues in order to use their abilities. It can be the different variations of Gaelic, Old Prussian, Norn, Celtic, Latin, and a few others. They vary because Silver Tongues have been among us since the beginning of time, and they are found all across the world, so they learned to use the different old languages to be able to master the arcane arts. I taught you Latin since you were a child because that is the language I learned in order to master the Silver Tongue."

Catherine was listening carefully, yet she did not truly understand what she was hearing. Suddenly all those stories that had fascinated her as a child sounded so complicated.

"I do not understand at all. What is happening? You have told be about these mages in stories, but what do you mean you, dad and I are like them?"

Nair sighed, softly.

"This is a very complicated matter, Catherine. You must listen carefully and keep an open mind in order to understand."

Catherine nodded.

"The Silver tongues, as I said before, are people who are linked with supernatural abilities, linked with magic. All Silver Tongues have access to certain levels of magic, but some will be more powerful in certain aspects. Each Silver Tongue has a magical spirit which will accompany him or her for the rest of their life. This spirit will vary in form depending on the level of strength and ability. Also, the spirit will take shape according to the type of mage that you are. For example, I am a nature mage, so the first shape my spirit took was that of a nymph. As I grew in power, it could shape shift into an elf and finally into a Huorns, which was the strongest shape I could summon. An earth mage could summon the spirit in dwarf form, or in gargoyle or golem form. Your grandfather was a fire mage like you, and he could summon his spirit as a fire lizard, hell hound and finally as a kapre. Stronger fire mages have summoned dragons and Cherufes. You could also have Djinn, a chimera or a phoenix. Each Silver Tongue will summon the spirit in three different forms as their power grows. Now, these spirits are neither above you nor beneath you. You do not command them, only humbly direct them, and they will help you learn the ways of the Silver Tongue. Each spirit has their own way of teaching you the arcane arts. It will learn from you until it finds the best way for you to learn. Now, the way to summon this spirit is in the book. This book is a guide for beginner Silver Tongues. It has only a few instructions on the most basic things you can do as a Silver Tongue. The rest will be up to you and your spirit.

Do you understand me so far?"

"I guess I do. But where do these people come from?"

"_We _come from the beginning of time. We are not like normal mages in different worlds. Silver Tongues only exist here on earth. Our powers cannot be learned like normal mages learn magic, nor is the magic we use the same as theirs. It is pure energy, a direct connection with the stream of magic and energy that flows in the world and a direct connection with the spirits that come from this stream. We are sent to other Worlds to fulfil our destiny, whether it is a big part or a small one, we play an important role in the World we are sent to."

"Different Worlds? What does that mean?"

"You took physics, right? Do you remember the String Theory?"

"Yes, but… I never believed it was true."

"Most scientist don't either, but the String Theory was made by a Silver Tongue after he returned from his mission in another World. Of course he could not tell his true identity, but he did his best to try to prove the existence of other Worlds. Unfortunately, it is not that easy, and Silver Tongues are forbidden to speak to just anyone about their true nature in our World in particular.

Your father and I were both sent to Camelot in a time of great need, but in the end we found our way back. We could have stayed if we desired it, but since your father was already in love with your mother, he decided to go back, and I decided to follow him."

"But _where_ do we come from? How did we gain our abilities?"

"We come from the same place as every other human being, we were simply chosen to be born with these abilities in order to help others. For example, your father and I were introduced to King Arthur by Merlin who is a pure Wizard. He knew of us Silver Tongues and gladly accepted our help. We would be the ones to deliver messages when it was necessary to take dangerous roads where only our magic would help us to survive. We helped transport many people to safety, defending them from the enemy. We fought many battles and healed many wounded, but none of that appears in the history books because when we left, we left behind and enchantment so that no one would remember since we already knew the tale of King Arthur and did not want to alter it.

What I am trying to say with all of this is that you were sent here for a reason and you must find out what that reason is."

"But how do I go back? And why on earth was I never informed of this?!"

"To answer your first question, I cannot say for certain. My brother and I were able to gain great magic while we were in our missions and that was our way out. You must find your own way back, unless you desire to stay."

Catherine scoffed and rolled her eyes.

"Yeah right. Like I would want to stay in a place full of monsters and ridiculously dresses people."

"You mean _handsome, _ridiculously dressed men," she said with a knowing smirk.

Catherine scoffed once more.

"To answer your second question I must ask you, would you have believed me had I told you what you are, especially now in this age where all such things are considered mere fantasy and all who claim to believe in it is seen as a lunatic?"

"You are a Silver Tongue! You could have simply proved it to me using your abilities!"

"I am afraid I cannot. Silver Tongues can only use their abilities when they are sent on their mission to a different World. No Silver Tongue can use their ability in their own world."

"Why?"

"That is still a mystery to us all. Some believe that it is because we are meant to use it for the purpose of helping others. That does not mean that if we were able to use it in our own world we would do otherwise. Another belief is that because our world has always had such phobias with anyone who can use magic, it is best to simply bring in someone from outside who will have no ties to anyone in this world and will sooner or later leave the this world. We do not know why Silver Tongues come only from Earth either. We could use some help, seeing how things have turned out, but like I said, magic in this world is not appreciated, so perhaps it would do us little to nothing if Silver Tongues were able to use their abilities here.

Anything else you would like me to explain?"

"How many of us are there?"

"From what we know, very few. The ability of Silver Tongues passes down from the family and never breaks unless, say, there family had one child and that child died without reproducing. Then the line ends there. There are only a handful of Silver Tongue families in the entire world. One thing we are certain, each country has at least one family of Silver Tongues. It is an odd thing if you think about it well, and we believe that there is still a larger purpose for us Silver Tongues in the future.

Anything else?"

Catherine sighed. "Not that I can think of right now."

"Very well. So what have you been up to these last few days?" Nair asked, eagerly.

"Oh you know, I've been walking, freezing, starving, running from crazy men, running from crazy beasts, getting pierced in the leg…" Catherine realized the pain in her leg was gone and quickly bent to check the wound. "It's gone!"

"What is?"

"I was shot in the leg with an arrow, but now the wound is gone!"

"Oh, that is only as long as you are here. You see, this is a place of pure energy so it purifies anyone who is in it, but once you return, you will find the wound again.

Catherine groaned in frustration.

"Can't I just go back with you? By the way, how did you get here?"

"You summoned me, remember? You asked for wisdom and help, so I was summoned here."

"So what am I supposed to do now?!"

"You must return to Middle earth and find your own path there."

"But I don't want to go to Middle earth!"

"You sound like a child, Catherine."

"I don't care! I don't want to go back there. What about mother and sister? What have they thought of my disappearance?"

Nair's expression became one of worry.

"What? What happened? How are they?!"

"They are fine, but you are not."

"What?" she asked, clearly confused.

"You see, right now your body is in a coma at the hospital. The accident with the car was destined to happen in order for you to come here. You will not wake up unless you return."

Catherine felt as if she had been slapped across the face.

"Wait, what?! So there are two of me?!"

"There are two bodies of you, but both cannot be awake at the same time. Your souls is asleep in your body at the hospital right now. Your mother, she knew who your father was, but she never truly believed him. She chose to ignore it because she did not understand it. Now she understands it more, and she is waiting to see what will happen next."

"You have to be kidding me! What did I do to deserve this?!"

"Now Catherine, this is a gift. You may not understand it now because you grew up under a much different environment as the ones of the Silver Tongues before you. But you will learn to love this, trust me."

Catherine groaned deeply in annoyance and frustration. She sighed in resignation.

"Why are we called Silver Tongues?"

"Because we are able to use Latin as a speech to connect into the roots of magic in this world which were firstly only accessible from the original Silver Tongue, which is now forgotten. For now you have used the beginning spells, and like their name points out, they are the spells you use at the beginning of your quest. With each spell you must call on the Ancient Silver Tongue once you start learning the rest of the spells, you will be able to use the power as many times as you wish without needing to say the spell. You may even make a staff and use it to channel your magic, it helps to make it stronger. The book will explain it to you. Oh, that remind me, here," she said while handing Catherine a silver ring with a big, red stone in the middle. "It was your grandfather's. It was given to him by a fire bender who was well versed in magic and crafting as well. It will do you little at the moment, but soon you will be able to use it to concentrate your abilities and make them stronger and more focused. A staff is always stronger, but a ring is harder to lose in a battle."

"Battle?! Who are you expecting me to fight with these powers?"

"It is, for now, just measures for precaution. But since you are a Silver Tongue, you might need to fight someday."

"Now, will you tell who have you met and what time are you in?"

"Well, I wouldn't say _meet _exactly, but I came into contact with Elrohir, and I suppose the other is Elladan. And judging but the appearance of the others, I'd say I came across some Dunedain Rangers. As for what time I'm in, it must be somewhere from the Third Age down since the twins are here."

"Oh how lovely! If only I could go with you!"

"Can we trade places?" she asked, hopefully.

"No, we cannot. Now go back and for once in your life, enjoy yourself. You are twenty two, Catherine. Youth will not last forever so enjoy it while you can."

"Oh sure, I can see how that's going to happen now that I am in a place where toilets and toilet paper have not yet been invented. Have you any idea how bad it is to go when the freezing winter winds are slapping your tushy?"

"I do, now stop whining and go back."

"How?"

"Like this."

Nair disappeared and Catherine found herself sitting in her car with a familiar pain in her leg.

"She is back!"

Catherine heard chattering outside and turned her head to see the bewildered looks on the men.

"Oh crud," she muttered.

"She is a witch! She must not be trusted!" Cathalon exclaimed angrily.

"We know nothing of her, Cathalon. We must give her a chance," said Amenor, holding Cathalon back while he tried to reach for the car where Catherine was.

Catherine swallowed hard and inched to the window and knocked on it. Everyone quickly became silent and gave her their attention. Catherine swallowed hard and tried to remember her lessons for public speaking and crowd control, though right now hardly anything came to mind.

"Uh, hello. My name is Catherine Silver Tongue," she said reluctantly, not know how to start explaining herself. "I really don't know how to explain this, but I must start by saying that I am not a witch, and that I really mean no one any harm. You see… I am, how can I say this? I am just a human and I come from a line of people called the Silver Tongues. This last part I just found out. We can use magic by speaking a language that taps into the ancient Silver Tongue." She stopped to see what their reactions were, but seeing as they were waiting for a better explanation she continued. "I didn't know people like me existed until just now. I didn't understand you before, but since I read a spell in the book, I can understand the language around me."

Catherine knew she was doing a lousy job at explaining herself, but she was still very confused as well. She sighed heavily when she saw the confused faces of the men.

"I know this makes no sense. It makes no sense to me either. From what I learned just a minute ago, Silver Tongues are sent to different Worlds to offer help or to find their destiny. I don't know which mine is, but I need to figure it out in order to return home."

"Other Worlds then?" asked Bemor. "You are from the outside Worlds?"

Catherine frowned. "You know my World?"

"We know there are other _Worlds_ out there, but when someone intrudes in ours, it is normally not for a good cause."

"I swear I have no bad intentions! I never even chose to come here. I didn't even know there were other Worlds to begin with!"

"Do not worry," said Elladan, "We will not hurt you. We sense no threat from you. Will you come out and warm yourself by the fire? Your lips are beginning to turn blue," he said with a hint of mischief in his voice.

Catherine hesitated, but she was very cold and her leg was killing her, so she nodded and opened the car door. She guarded the spell book in her pocket before taking Elrohir's offered hand.

Catherine sat in a corner and the rest of the men did the same. They were all staring at her with scrutinizing eyes that made Catherine shrink away.

"Where is it that you come from?" Elrohir asked.

"I come from Earth," she replied carefully.

Elrohir looked at his twin with a triumphant smile which left everyone else in the camp wondering what it meant.

"I am in Middle earth, right?"

"Aye, but how do you know the name of this place if you said you did not know of this World before?" Cathalon asked with a hard tone.

"At ease Cathalon," said Elladan. "Let her explain first."

"You seem to already know, Elladan. What is it that you are keeping from us?" Cathalon asked, his high tone betraying his anger.

The two brothers exchanged looks before looking at the men.

"Like you, elves know of other Worlds," said Elladan. "We were the first beings to learn of the existence of these Worlds because the Valar taught our ancestors of it, and we taught some of you of them as well. But there are things we know that you do not, and cannot, for the safety of us all. All you need to know is that this is not our first encounter with Catherine's World."

"And why did you not mention any of this before?"

"Because it is none of your concern," said Elladan, his voice stern and strong.

Cathalon glared at the elven Prince but did not continue his bickering.

"We were not sure if she was from Earth," said Elrohir, "because the contact we had was with someone of a different culture, so her physical characteristics, her language and her clothing are all different. We suspected her origins but could not be sure until someone gave us a confirmation."

"And who is this someone?" asked Amener, more calmly than Cathalon.

"It was either her," Elrohir said while sparing Catherine a look. "or Elladan's wife."

"Your wife?" asked Bemor. "Why would you wife be able to tell you where this girl is from?"

"Because she had much contact with Earth." The tone of his voice was final.

Catherine had caught the tension between the men and decided to keep away from it. She caught Cathalon glaring darkly at her and swallowed hard.

"Leave her! She has nothing to do with this," said Amener with a reproaching tone.

Everyone in the group stirred. Catherine's eyes traveled to the two silent figures in the back. Seobryn and Dyrin had not said a word during the quarrel and looked just as afraid to get into the conversation as Catherine. The two caught her staring at them and smiled in a friendly way. This made Catherine feel much better and she returned the smile.

"There," said Amener. "Take the example of the two youngest here. At least they know how to smile at a lost lady!"

The two youth shrunk back from the glare they received from Cathalon, but Bemor and the twins sighed.

"Forgive us, miss," said Elrohir. "It is not every day that we find a young woman from a different World with strange powers, and with everything that is going on right now, it is hard to trust anyone these days."

Catherine simply nodded, wishing that she could just vanish into thin air.

"What is our next move?" Bemor asked, trying to move away from the previous subject.

Elladan turned to Catherine.

"Was your destination ever Archet?"

Catherine narrowed her eyes before remembering the previous day when she had first encountered them and had guessed that Archet was a place. A small smile crept onto her lips but it vanished quickly. "No, I had only taken a guess when you pointed at the forest while saying Archet. I thought I meant there was a place named like that, so I played along."

"You guessed correctly," said Amener. "There is a town by that name, and it is in the direction that Elladan had pointed out at the time. You set out on the right path, but you got quite lost. You walked in circles for a long time."

Catherine meditated on his words. Now that she thought about it, she had felt as if some sort of will was above her and was keeping her lost in this forest, but she decided to say nothing about it for the moment.

"Then taking you to Archet is not necessary, right?" asked Elladan.

"I suppose not, though right now I have no idea where to go or what to do. I don't know how to figure out what I am supposed to do."

Everyone exchanged glance.

"What is it that you wish to do?" asked Bemor.

"I wish to find a way to return home. I don't know if there is something else for me here, but for now if there is, I cannot see it."

"You could see our father," said Elrohir. "He might be able to help you, but I cannot promise anything."

"Right now there is nothing for me to lose, right? If your father might be able to provide anything for me I will be very grateful, if not, then I will have to continue searching."

"Then tomorrow we can ride to Combe. It is the closest settlement and we need to gather supplies before we head to Imladris."

"So allow me to take a wild guess," said Catherine. "Am I in Chetwood?"

"Yes, how did you know?" Bemor asked.

"I guessed, but I based my guess on the information I remember reading in…"

"Reading it where?" Cathalon asked, his tone suggesting that he expected a quick and honest answer.

Elladan and Elrohir exchanged quick words through their bond, but they had no need to worry, for Catherine was a smart woman and she was quickly on it.

"In some folklore and legend books. This world is part of our legends, we did not believe that it was real, though I supposed a handful of people might have, but for the most part, it was believe that Middle earth was just a story for young and old people. That is how I knew I was in Middle earth."

"And what do these stories tell?" he continued to press, raising a questioning eyebrow.

Catherine shrugged. "I never read much of them. It bored me," she lied with ease. "It spoke of Middle earth's history. I just remember a bit of the name of a few places and their locations, perhaps a few names if I try to think harder, but that is all."

Catherine had to hold the urge to smirk. She was quite proud of herself for being able to handle the situation so smoothly and lie so easily to avoid the subject of events that she was not sure if they had already happened or not.

Elladan and Elrohir looked at her and smiled. Both were almost sure that she knew well about this place, but for the sake of some knowledge that they knew must be kept secret, she lied.

"So, how about you tell me a bit more of where I am and what year it is? If I remember correctly, time is not the same here as it is in my world."

Catherine was returning to her old confident self, and that made her feel much better.

"The date is November 9th of the year 2850 of the Third Age," Elrohir replied with a gentle smile. "You have been wondering around Northern Chetwood which is located in Bree-land."

Catherine narrowed her eyes as she tried to see if she could recognize the year and the current events that should be passing in order to see if she could get a clue as to what her purpose here might be. For one thing she knew that the War of the ring was still far away in her terms of years, so she would not live through it and she didn't need to mention any of it to anyone else. She had read The Silmarillion but she could hardly remember anything, and the few things she did remember were mostly from the beginning of time in Arda so it would not help her here at all.

Catherine suppressed a sigh and nodded to the elf. There was not much more she could think of asking, and she didn't want to look more suspicious so she decided to leave it like that.

Elladan was about to say something when his eyes fell on the ring on Catherine's index finger. He was sure that had not been there before. His twin quickly got his brother's mental message and cautiously looked at the ring. He confirmed his brother's thoughts, and he also noticed there was something that made this ring different from any casual jewelry, but for now both elves decided to keep it to themselves.

* * *

**Trivia time!**

**In order to understand some things, please read the little trivia I left here for you guys.**

**The Osanwe-kenta or ****_Enquiry into the Communication of Thought_**** is what we know as speaking through the mind. Although we only see Galadriel and Elrond do it, it is implied that Celeborn can as well.**

**"****Tell me, where is Gandalf? For I much desire to speak with him. I can no longer see him from afar."**

**This implies that he could communicate with Gandalf from afar, meaning, via mind. We also see Galadriel and Elrond do this with each other, and Galadriel with the Fellowship. Now, there is a popular belief that elves can communicate through their minds when they marry, and if they are twins, such as Elladan and Elrohir, for bonds of elves are deeper than those of humans. I chose to follow this belief, as you may have noted before when one of the twins sent a mind message to the other.**

**Tolkien never specifies what is required of elves to be able to do this, so I'll write based on what the fandom and I believe even some scholars have deduced.**


	4. Chapter 4

**I just thought I'd make a recap here for a moment. This fic is connected in a very small way to my other story "When Dawn Breaks I will still be there", which happens before this story, but does not affect it at all. There will only be a few mentioning's of Elladan's wife and she will appear later, but it's not so important that you would have to read the other fic to understand. Also, my first fanfic "The voice within" happens in this World, but that is during the Fellowship of the Ring and won't be mentioned at all in this fic. The one thing the three stories have in common is that Middle earth knows of the existence of our world, and people before have made it in, but most of them for ill purposes, and so, people do not trust anyone coming from our world. **

**I hope to write in the future a story where all three of my characters come together.**

**Chapter 4**

Catherine did not sleep that night, she had been too conscious of the seven men around her. Plus, her mind was very busy with many thoughts and questions. She wondered about what the reason was for her being here, how she would learn it, how she would learn to use her powers- which truly interested and excited her even in her frustration. Other things she had pondered upon that night was the discussion the men had. They knew about other Worlds, but the twins seemed to have a much deeper knowledge and perhaps even a relationship with it. She thought about who Elladan's wife could be. Elrohir had said that she had had much contact with Earth. Maybe she would be able to help her return home.

Catherine turned around when she felt someone looming over her. She saw Elrohir, recognizing him because of his dark blue and grey while Elladan wore pale blue and silver grey.

"Good morning," he said with a courteous smile.

Catherine felt a blush coming as she stared at the beautiful being above her. Calling upon a stoic face, she sat up, wincing as her sore leg complained.

"Good morning," she said, trying to imitate his courteous tone.

"Have you slept nothing?"

Catherin shook her head. "Not really."

"I can tell."

She felt subconscious. How bad could she look if he could tell?!

"How does your leg feel?"

"I suppose it feels like it should, considering I was shot just yesterday," she replied, not looking at him but rubbing her leg, trying to relax the tense muscles.

Elrohir nodded. "And how do _you _feel?"

Catherine looked up at Elrohir, a little bit surprised. This time an amused yet pleased smile spread across her face.

"I am not sure how I feel. Last night I did not sleep at all while pondering on these things and more. But I suppose that, considering the mess of events that happened on the past few days, I am substantially well at the moment."

Elrohir raised a questioning eyebrow and chuckled softly with amusement.

"Do you always consider things so deeply?"

Catherine chuckled. "It is part of my job, or at least, the job I was hoping to obtain."

"And that would be?"

Catherine sighed tiredly. "I am studying to be a Prosecutor." Catherine looked up at Elrohir who was looking at her with confusion, so she continued to explain. "A prosecutor is a person who deals with crimes or charges."After that, Catherine proceeded to explain with better but short details her job and other jobs that worked closely with hers.

Elrohir narrowed his brow and for a moment he did not speak, his face deep in thought.

"That is a hard position to be in. Here it is not so complicated and justice is passed differently. But from what you told me, and from what little I know from Elladan's wife, crime and judgment are much more different and wide in your World. Plus, your World and mine are quite different, so I should not be surprised."

Catherine was not sure if she should take his words as negative criticism or as a simple thought. For now, she decided to ignore it and take the opportunity to ask about Elladan's wife.

"You mentioned your brother's wife yesterday, and just now. Can you tell me who she is and why she knows so much about my World?"

Elrohir seemed to be thinking about it, but before he could conclude, Bemor and Seobryn walked into the encampment, apparently returning from a morning walk. Elrohir walked away from Catherine, not giving her a second look, which meant he would not answer her question.

Catherine frowned, disappointed, but turned her head when she heard the footsteps getting closer. She turned her head to see the two men passing by her. Bemor gave her a curt nod and a gentle smile as he said good morning. Seobryn gave a bit more impish smile, making Catherine hold a chuckle as she pictured him as the rascally type in her World. That was definitely the impression she got from him.

Catherine looked around the encampment. She looked for the rest of the men. She saw Cathalon and Amener still asleep in a faraway corner. Looking around, she spotted Dyrin, sleeping closer to the fire. She was surprised she had not seen him sooner, for he was just some seven feet away from him. She smiled as she studied his face. He had one of those 'cute and shy' faces. He was certainly the youngest among the men. She was still missing the other elf. Catherine looked around but could not see him anywhere. As she continue to study the encampment, she did not hear the deaf footsteps of Elrohir approaching her. She watched him as he knelt beside her wounded leg, studying it closely.

"My brother will be back soon," he said without looking at her.

"How did you-"

"It is not an impossible guess, seeing as you _were _scanning each of the men so shamelessly."

Catherine felt a surge of shame and anger and was about to reply, but Elrohir lifted his head and looked at her with a mischievous smile. It took Catherine a second to register that it had been in jest. When she realized it, her face softened and she smiled softly.

Elrohir chuckled and went back to look at the wound. He began to undo the bandage with much care. For a moment, Catherine felt a bit annoyed that he had begun to tend her without asking or even informing her first, but seeing as he was helping her, and that he seemed he knew quite well what he was doing, she said nothing.

Elrohir was quick in ending the wound. Catherine was fascinated at how his fingers seemed to hardly touch her skin, like ghost strokes.

When Elrohir finished wrapping the bandage around her leg, he reached out for his backpack and pulled out a water skin and handed it to her, along with a biscuit.

"Thank you," she said as she took the water and food.

"I am sorry to have started working on your leg without asking for your permission. I did not mean to offend you."

"I have not said you offended me," she said, narrowing her eyes.

Elrohir smiled knowingly.

"You do not need to say it, I could sense it from you as soon as you realized what I was doing."

Catherine narrowed her eyes questioningly. Elrohir chuckled lightly.

"When you have lived as long as I, you learn to read and understand others without the need of them speaking or showing much."

Catherine snorted quietly. For a normal human ear, it would have been close to impossible to hear it, but for Elrohir's keen ear, it was no problem. He smiled, amused.

"I am sorry if I bother you. Humans tend to become annoyed sometimes when they spend time around elves. We tend to be quite outspoken and curious, and in turn, we irritate mortals."

Catherine looked at him questioningly, but could not help a soft chuckle. Just then, she realized she needed a place to answer nature's call.

"Where can I find a little lady's room?"

Elrohir tilted his head and narrowed his eyes with a curious look.

"I need a place to answer nature's call, and to change these pants. I do not think that ripped jeans are in fashion in Middle earth yet."

Elrohir raised a questioning eyebrow, but asked nothing.

"I can help you move to a more private area. Where do you have extra clothing?"

"Take me to my car. I have my entire luggage there."

Elrohir nodded and extended his hand to her, remembering that the other night she had refused him to carry her.

Catherine was surprised to see that he did not need to ask what her car was, but she decided to wait for another moment to ask. She took his offered hand and allowed him to pull her up. Her breath hitched slightly as she tried to accustom her leg to the new position.

"Are you sure you do not wish me to carry you? Hopping on one leg certainly does not do you much good."

A slight blush crept on Catherine's face as she thought about being carried by this beautiful man. _'Pull yourself together Catherine, you are a grown woman and he's a grown man. Be mature about it!'_

"Thanks, I will take your offer."

Elrohir nodded and carefully swept his arms under Catherine's leg and lifted her into his arms.

Catherine felt momentarily tempted to throw her arms around Elrohir's neck for safety, but managed to control herself. Looking ahead, she realized how tall the elf was. She felt she was at least a foot and a half higher from the ground than she was when she stood on her own legs.

Catherine picked a pair of warm leggings, navy blue jeans, a clean under shirt, a grey shirt and clean socks. After that, Elrohir carried her to a far spot where she was hidden enough for Catherine to have her private space. By the time she was brought back to the encampment, all of the men were up, and Elladan was back.

"We shall be leaving in a few minutes," he announced the men. "We will head to Combe to gather supplies quickly, see if there are any news we should know, and then my brother and I will head to Imladris. If you wish to join us or to head a different way, feel free to do so."

"We will accompany you to Combe," said Amener. "Depending on what news we receive there, we shall decide whether to follow you to Imladris or not." He then turned his head to Elrohir who walked in, carrying Catherine. "Good morning miss. I hope you slept well."

Catherine smiled and nodded curtly at the elder man. She was surprised to see how the encampment had disappeared as if no one had ever been there.

"If there is something you wish to take before we leave, tell me now," said Elladan to Catherine who was still being held in Elrohir's arms.

"I would like to make a quick wardrobe change, and see if there is something else I can bring."

Elladan nodded and walked over to the car to help Catherine pick what she wanted. She chose an extra set of clothing, discarding the old one she had been wearing. She also took her book where she made notes and other things, two pens and a mechanic pencil. Her iPod was still fully charged so she took it, though she hardly ever used it unless she wanted some mood music for writing, reading or carving, which were her three hobbies. She took whatever sweets she had lying around, which were quite a few since she had a massive sweet tooth. She didn't think anything else would be necessary, nor much else fit into her backpack anyways, so she left everything in the trunk of her car.

Elladan took her small luggage on his horse so that Catherine could ride more comfortably with Elrohir. Catherine chose to sit behind Elrohir, though she was reluctant since she had never been on a horse before.

"We move out in a minute," Elladan announced as he checked that everything was in order.

Catherine looked down when she felt a pair of eyes on her. She saw Dyrin approaching her with a shy and friendly smile.

"Here," he said when he reached her side, extending his hand to give her something.

Catherine looked at the small leaf package.

"They are winter blackberries. I do not know if you have them from where you are from, but they are quite exquisite."

Catherine's beamed at the young man.

"Thank you. I was desiring something sweet."

Dyrin gave her a curt nod and turned to mount his horse.

Catherine opened the small package to reveal the bright colored blackberries. She took one into her mouth and smile as the sweet flavor took over her mouth. They were sweeter than the blackberries she knew.

"We ride west!" Elladan announced.

"Hold on," Elrohir whispered right before he urged his horse forward.

Catherine tensed and her hands gripped the sides of Elrohir's tunic fiercely as the horse began to gallop hastily.

It was a faster ride than Catherine thought. In little more than an hour, she began to see the shapes of building and people moving around. Secretly, Catherine was beginning to feel excited. Even if she had not chosen this in the first place, visiting Middle earth was starting to sound like a real adventure, and even if she was of a more calm nature, Catherine was a spirited young woman in the inside. As they approached the village, the riders began to slow down. Catherine gasped in delight when she started to see from up close the buildings and people. She leaned to the sides and even pocked her head beside Elrohir's arm to look forward.

"You look like a child exploring a wondrous new place," said Elladan who had ridden next to his brother.

"You are not that far from the truth," she replied with a delighted smile.

Elrohir looked over his shoulder with an amused expression. Catherine certainly looked enchanted by the little village, even though for them it was simple settlement with nothing special.

Some people turned around to look at the new arrivals. Some would nod curtly, shout a friendly greeting or just turn around and ignore them. This made Catherine realize that they must be known in these parts already, or that at least it was not uncommon to have Dunedain Rangers and elves visiting these parts.

For the most part, Catherine was ignored or left unseen by the villagers, but a few caught her and directed curious looks at the strangely clad woman, but most of them decided to simply look away as if they had seen nothing odd. Catherine wondered if maybe it was because she was with these people.

"Elrohir, take Catherine to be seen by a healer," said Elladan. "I will go see if there are any important news."

"Aye, we shall meet you at the East border in a few minutes."

Elladan turned his head around and Elrohir urged his horse forward.

"I though elves were the best healers. Why am I being taken to a human healer?"

Elrohir laughed lightly. "You have a bit of knowledge of our race I take it."

Catherine was not sure if it had been a question or statement.

"I know only a little, very little in fact." Her mind traveled to the book and the movie when Aragorn talks about Frodo's need of elvish medicine while him, a skilled healer in Catherine's eyes, was unable to help him.

"You are right in part. Elves possess the best knowledge when it comes to healing wounds, poisons and curses, but when it comes to the illnesses of humans, we are not that well versed. My father has spent much time among humans and has learned much on how to treat them, but my brother and I have not. Elladan just wants you to be checked to see if you have not caught anything while wondering in the cold. Besides, we are out of proper items for healing your leg. Is there a problem with you seeing a healer? Would you prefer not to?" he asked, looking over his shoulder.

"No, I was just wondering."

Elrohir stopped in front of one of the newest looking buildings in the area. It was well kept, the wood looked still fresh from the forest. The elf dismounted and extended both arms to Catherin, smiling impishly. Catherine snorted but smiled narrowly. She leaned down and dropped herself into Elrohir's arms, feeling sheepish at being held like a baby in his arms. Elrohir entered the building and was quickly greeted by a very young woman, probably eighteen, give or take. Catherine's eyes were fixed on the woman's long brown hair that was tied in a beautiful braid with lace and strings to decorate her head.

"How may I be of service, Master elf?" she asked in a girlish, childlike even, voice.

"She was lost in the forest for a few nights. Can you check her to see if she is well of health? Also, she was wounded yesterday by a poisoned arrow. Give her the strongest draught you have. I shall pay for it."

"Very well, sir. If you would follow me to a private chamber," she said, turning around and walking into an empty room.

Elrohir set Catherine on a mattress on the floor and walked to stand by the window to look out. Catherine stared at him for a moment until she heard the young girl walk up to her.

"Morning miss. My name is Riza. Shall I start examining you?"

Catherine stared at her for a moment. She was taken by how pretty she was. Her fair skin, her bright green eyes, her full rosy lips, her long light brown hair, her fair features, her slender and curved body that was slightly hugged by a forest green dress. It was almost ridiculous for Catherine to look at this girl, she was almost the stereotypical woman of fairy tales. She was probably three or four years younger than herself yet she was the one who would attend her. It kind of annoyed Catherine, but she tried to ignore it. After all, in this world you did not get the luxury of going to school and then to college before you actually started on your profession. She had probably been trained as a healer since she was a child, so, in a way, she was above Catherine.

"Miss?"

Catherine's eyes widened as she came out of her thoughts and she almost slapped herself for such stupid thoughts.

"I am sorry. Yes, you may do your work."

The girl nodded with a smile and proceeded to inspect her. She looked her in the eyes, ears, mouth and even nose. She touched and proved different parts of her body and used odd items to listen to her heartbeat. Through the entire procedure, Elrohir had kept his eyes out the window.

"She seems to be in good health, sir. I will proceed to tend her leg."

Riza hesitated for a moment, looking at Elrohir. Catherine understood and was about to tell her that it was alright for him to be there when Elrohir turned around and nodded with a curt smile.

"I shall wait outside," and he walked out.

"Alright then, Miss, let's have a look at that leg."

It really wasn't that long, but for Catherine it felt like an eternity before Riza was done checking her leg. She had poured a tonic on her wound which almost made Catherine screech in pain, though she managed a half chocked whimper. After that, she gave Catherine a draught to prevent any infection from settling in, and for pruning any that might have already set.

"We are done, Master elf," Riza called and Elrohir passed through the curtains into the room.

"Thank you. How much do I owe you?"

"Three castars and two tharnis in total, Master elf. Two castars for the draught, and one and two tharnis for the entire procedure."

"Very well, here you go," he said, handing her the money.

Catherine felt bad for having the elf, who was no more than a stranger, pay for her expenses. She would have paid everything if her money wasn't worthless now.

_'__Yup, I have about a hundred dollars in my purse and two thousand in my bank account, and yet I'm as pore as a monastery mouse. Wonderful,' _Catherine thought to herself.

"I'm sorry for this," she told Elrohir as he carried her out. "I'll pay you back as soon as I get the chance."

"No need for that," he replied.

"No, really, I do not wish to take advantage of your kindness."

"Would you deny me the chance for charity?" he asked, teasingly.

"Ah…" she said, a bit unsure of what else to do.

Elrohir flashed her a playful smile. "Have I left you speechless?"

Catherine felt sheepish as she pouted slightly. _'Are all elves like this?'_ Catherine wondered, not expecting such a playful nature from the elf.

"I am sorry," Elrohir said, still smiling. "I got a bit caught up. You see, there is this, shall we call it game, amongst my people. When you live as long as we, it is sometimes hard to see the end of a discussion if one ever sparks. So, as a way to have a little fun, we engage in playful banter. When we manage to silence the other we ask, 'Have I left you speechless?', and if the other does not manage to find a quick reply, and thus the game ends."

"Oh, so the point of the game is to outwit each other?"

"Yes, that is a way to explain it."

Catherine laughed softly. "I am _not _about to engage in banter with an elf. You win."

Elrohir chuckled. He lifted Catherine onto the horse and rode off to find his brother. Catherine took the chance to observe the town more. She could not help but to stare, wide eyed and grinning at the surroundings and the towns folk. Some people stared back with inquisitive looks. Her clothing and behavior were surely drawing attention. Catherine was too caught up in her amazement to notice, but Elrohir did. He wanted to tell her to try to blend in, but the look of pure fascination on her made him unable. They would be leaving soon anyways, and it was unlikely that her presence would cause any disturbance among them. Finally, he spotted Elladan.

"Any news?" Elrohir asked.

"Yes. People have said that they have spotted great shadows coming down from the Trollshaws at night. They appear to stay close to the woods, and do not come down to the Great East Road, so no one has been able to tell what they are. The news arrived to Bree some two weeks ago. No one else has brought any news since."

"Those are troubling tidings. I believe that our scouts will have better information back home. Will the party ride with us?"

"They will. The news interest them as well. They must be done gathering supplies. If all is ready, we can depart as soon as they are done."

"We are ready."

Soon after, the company had set out to Bree. From there, they got on the Great East Road. Catherine had been told it would be a five to six days journey if all went well. Of course, for Catherine it felt like ten time longer, especially when after the first day of riding, her bottom was so sore she could hardly move without wincing in pain. By the third day she was just numb. Her leg was healing slower than she liked, but there was nothing she could do to make it go faster, that is until she remembered her aunt telling her that some Silver Tongues were able to heal. She could not read while ridding for her arms were around Elrohir, and even when they slowed she still had to hold onto him since she could not use her legs to balance herself nor anchor herself to the horse because of the injury. On the third night they had left the Weathertop far behind and were now camping on the Lone-lands. Catherine took this chance to go through the book to see if there was anything she could do to help herself heal faster.

"At this rate we will pass by the Trollshaws by tomorrow night," said Bemor. "And we will have to make camp there as well, unless we make a stop in the afternoon to let the horses rest and then continue through the night. A third option is to simply stop before we reach the Trollshaws, make camp and continue the following day. What do you think?"

"We cannot yet be certain that the shadows coming from the Trollshaws are evil since there have been no news of what they are and they have done nothing yet," said Amener. "But while we do not know what they are, I believe it is best not to risk making camp."

"I believe you are right," said Cathalon, "It is best if we arrive at Imladris, verify with the scouts to know if they have seen anything, and then part from there. As for continuing during the day or night, I would opt for stopping in the evening to let the horses rest and then continue through the night. That way we will not lose an entire day, and we might even learn something by passing by."

The men continued their debate for a while. Seobryn and Dyrin kept to themselves, being too young to yet know enough of these things to pitch in their opinion. Elrohir had joined in the debate, but Elladan was only listening. Meanwhile, Catherine was trying to read by the light of the bonfire. So far, she had found the way to summon her spirit and other things about it, some explanations about the things Silver Tongues were capable of doing and some very minor spells that should work for any Silver Tongue. Elladan had noticed her absorbed in the book. He saw her expression change several times, from curious to inquisitive to completely confused and back again. He saw her mouth some words, but they were in a language that he did not understand. Finally, curiosity won over and he scotched over to her side.

"May I inquire what has you so absorbed?"

Catherine's head snapped up, slightly startled since she hadn't felt the elf move closer.

"This is a sort of guide for beginner Silver Tongues. It has the spell that brought me here, the one to help me understand the language around me and the one to ask for aid in order to understand what is going on. Those three I have already used, but they are very simply things that only require you to be a Silver Tongue to be able to cast do them. Everything else from now on require more focus and talent."

"What are you able to do?"

Catherine could see the gleam in his eyes. He was truly curious and almost excited to know. She held the urge to laugh at him. Also, she had the feeling that she would become the elf's entertainment for a while, being something new and strange, which was not easy for an elf to find after several centuries of exploring.

"I haven't attempted anything really. So far, I've seen simply shielding spells that vary according to what you want to shield yourself from, very simple illusion spells, conjuring spells, a light ball, spells to create or clear fog and mist, revelation, obscuring sight, basic alchemy, basically most of these are mostly practice spells, but I cannot find any healing spells," she said with a sigh.

"Is it for your leg that you want it?"

"Yes, at this rate, it will take over a month to heal and I don't think I can wait that long."

"How does it all work?"

"What do you mean?"

"How does it all work? How do Silver Tongues acquire their powers? What can you do? How do they practice their skills? Why were you sent here?"

Catherine laughed, a bit taken aback by the many questions. "Whoa, those are a lot of questions. Let me start by answering the last one. I already told you that I do not know why I was sent here, but I guess you mean what is the purpose of sending a Silver Tongue to another world?"

Elladan nodded.

"Well, I can't answer those questions by experience, but if my aunt's stories about Silver Tongues were true, then I believe I can give you more information, though, it is quite a long story."

"I believe we have time to kill," said Elrohir, making both his brother and Catherine look at him. They realized that the men were no longer discussing and were looking at them. "We decided to ride by the Trollshaws through the night, so there is no need to rush tomorrow, which means you can tell us the story, and give us a reason to stay up late and sleep in tomorrow," he said with a teasing tone.

Catherine chuckled. Did elves really sleep? That was a bit of a contradicting topic from what she had heard. She made a mental note to ask them soon. Catherine proceeded to explain everything the same way her aunt had done so a few days ago. She then told them one of the stories that she could remember about her aunt and her father in Camelot. Half of the night was taken by that, and the men did not allow her to stop until she had ended completely. They were fascinated, or at least most of them were, Cathelon was still holding his ground on not trusting her and seeing it as witchcraft. With the way he was so against it made Catherine think that he had to have a reason for this. But it didn't matter to her that one man was reluctant of her, most were alright with her and that was all she needed.

The next day they departure later than normal, and still had time to stop once and give the horses rest before setting out once more a while after crossing the Last Bridge. Night fell as the road took them to the edge of the Trollshaws. They galloped in silence, keeping their eyes open for any sign. It was a boring ride compared to others for Catherine. At least they had talked and both elves and men had been keen on sharing their stories of travels and battles. But now, they moved in silence, their pace not too fast after having galloped at full speed for some time. To distract herself, Catherine recited in her mind the few spells she had memorized. Hours had gone by without anything disturbing their journey until they reached the first hours of the day, when the darkness was at its peek.

"Halt!" both twins whispered in unison. The company came to a halt and everyone quickly turned their gaze to the edge of the forest. For a moment no one said a word.

"What is it?" Amener whispered.

The horses neighed nervously and the riders were quick to try and hush them with quiet elven words and a path on the neck.

"We must move on, quickly!" Elladan announced.

Catherine's grip around Elrohir strengthened just in time, for the elf urged his mount forward in a sudden, fast pace. Catherine gulped heavily. She was torn between looking at the dark forest and closing her eyes and just not thinking about what could have set them off. The sudden noises of loud rustling and branches snapping made her head whirl toward the forest just in time to see many large shadows running on the edge of the trees. Her grip tightened tenfold around Elrohir, her nails digging into his cloth. Memories of her encounter with the orcs set her mind on a panic-stricken mess.

Elrohir felt her tense behind him, but there was nothing he could say at the moment to calm her down. His ears caught something and he dodged just an arrow flew by where his head had been a second ago. Catherine yelped as the arrow whistled by. She noticed that the shadows were staying in the cover of the trees. There were so many it was impossible to tell their numbers.

"They're too many!" Bemor shouted. "We must get off the road!"

Everyone turned their horses to leave the road.

"Hold on!" Elrohir shouted to Catherine as they speed up down rocky terrain.

Catherine yelped, feeling like she was about to fall out. Her wounded leg didn't allow her to anchor herself on the horse, still, that didn't stop her from trying. She swallowed a cry of pain as she tried to fasten her legs on each side of the horse, but it was no use, and using only her good leg was not helping at all. With the way she was bumping, her legs began to slip. Had it not been for her fierce grip around Elrohir, she would have fallen. But her lower body was starting to slip out.

"I'm falling!" she cried out.

"Hold on!" he replied.

"I can't! My legs won't hold me! I'm slipping out!"

"Elrohir, she cannot anchor herself with her wounded leg!" Seobryn yelled as he rode up to them from the side. He brought his horse as close to Elrohir's as possible and grabbed Catherine by the rim of her jacket and tried to pull her back up. It worked, but he could not continue to ride like that and Catherine just continued to slip back once more.

They could not stop, for the enemy had given chase out of the forest. Some were mounted on wargs, the rest stayed behind.

"I think I'm-" but she didn't have the chance to say anymore when her body slipped from the side of the horse. Even with her holding onto Elrohir she could no longer stay on the horse. Her hands slipped from the cloth and she felt as she was thrown in the air. She didn't even have the time to scream when she felt herself being whirled in the air and back onto the horse, only this time she was in front of Elrohir. The only thing she could do was gasp sharply as her mind tried to register if what just happened had happened at all.

"Lean forward!" Elrohir told her. She did as told, grasping the mane of the horse. She felt Elrohir's arms clasp securely around her to keep her on the horse.

Arrows flew by them, some missing by a breath. The men took out their bows and began to shoot back, but if shooting while riding was hard, it was worse that they had to turn around to shoot while on the horse since their enemy was behind them. Suddenly, one of the horses neighed frantically before tumbling down. Everyone turned their heads to see that Cathalon's horse had been hit and now he was on the ground. Everyone came to a halt before they turned their horses around.

"Oh God!" Catherine breathed as she realized they were heading into battle.

"Stay calm," Elrohir whispered in her ear.

_'__Who in their right mind would stay calm in a situation like this?!' _Catherine's mind screamed. She heard Elrohir draw his sword and her felt vertigo starting to kick in. She held her breath as they came close to the first orc. Her mind whirled as the creature came half a foot from the horse before Elrohir cut it through. The rider fell, but the warg was still on its feet. Elrohir urged his horse to turn as sharply as possible, cutting in front of the warg right as it got on its back legs to jump them. The time it took the creature to get back on its feet was enough for Elrohir to slice its neck. Her heart was beating a mile per hour. She was swinging her head in every direction, frantically, expecting to be killed any second now. She could hardly tell who was fighting what in the darkness and the frantic mess. She could not see if anyone of the party was down. Suddenly, a warg charged from the back side and Elrohir was forced to turn the horse brusquely in order to avoid collision, but it was too late, and even though he avoided most of the impact, the warg still collided on the side of the horse, catching Catherine's leg. This set her off and she let go of the horse. Elrohir was too occupied leading the horse back to a steady pace, and with one hand on its mane and another on the horse, he could not grab Catherine, and she fell.

With the strength of the impact, Catherine lost consciousness for several seconds. When she came to her senses, she found herself on the floor. It was too dark to tell who or what exactly was around her. She turned herself on her stomach and covered her head out of instinct. She felt things pass her by an inch from her and she squealed, rolling to the side, despite her leg screaming in protest, but right now her only focus was living.

"Catherine!" she heard one of the elves call, though she could not tell which it was now that she was on the floor. She looked up to see the elf beside her on the horse, but he could not stop to pick her up since he was caught slicing everything that came at him. She wanted to craw away, but she was stuck in a circle of things. At least the elf was keeping anything from coming close to her by staying beside her while fighting. Suddenly, something caught Catherine's eye and she saw with the corner of her eyes a warg that had appeared from the side and had charged at her. She screamed at the top of her lung, closing her eyes and expending a hand as if to stop it. Catherine's ring glowed brightly and something similar to a gold and transparent light emitted from Catherine's hand as the warg was upon her, and it collided solid against it, cracking its jaw in the process. Catherine's head snapped towards the warg when she heard the sound of collision and the pained howl and saw the creature whining and trashing around with its jaw hanging open. She had not seen the ward that generated from her hand so she attributed it one of the men's doing.

Footsteps behind her made her turn her head quickly. Dyrin, who had been running toward her, stopped abruptly when she turned so fast, and raised his hands before himself in a protective manner. "It's me!" he said. Catherine did not understand why he had reacted like that but she ignored it and took his offered hand. He pulled her to her feet and she leaned on him when her bad leg could not support that side of her body. "Cover me!" he shouted at the others as he led Catherine away from the fighting circle. Catherine kept looking back and forth, her head shooting in every direction in a frenzy. She would jolt at every sound and shadow around her, making it hard for Dyrin to lead her. "Trust them!" he told her as she continued to start and look around.

"What do you mean by that?!" she asked, honestly not understanding what he was referring to.

"I mean to trust them in their ability to protect us. And trust me to lead you out of here. Do not continue to try to pull elsewhere and let me lead you. They will protect us. And if anything gets too close, do what you did to the warg."

"What? I don't get it!"

Dyrin gave her a questioning look. "You stopped it, did you not?"

"I did not! How could I stop it?!"

Dyrin was now confused, but he could not burden his mind now when he needed it to be sharp and alert with other things. "Just follow my lead."

The fight continued around them and Catherine continued to nearly jump out of her skin every time a sound or shadow was too close, but she stopped trying to move away and let Dyrin take her away. With the protection of the others, he was able to pull her out of the fighting area.

"Stay low and head for that mound and hide behind it. I'll cover you," Dyrin told her before quickly returning to aid his companions.

Catherine crawled in the direction Dyrin pointed out, making sure to stay low and hide in the tall grass. Tears of fear, anger and frustration fell down her cheek. "This is why I never asked to come to this forsaken place!" she muttered to herself. For a second, thoughts of fanfiction she had read when she was younger came to her mind and she glared at nothing. Apparently everyone who was dropped into Middle earth somehow gained the ability to just stand and fight, even with a stick! "Well that is not the bloody case!" she muttered, angrily as she finally made it to the mound and buried herself at the base of it. Her body was shaking slightly as she continued to hear the sounds of battle a few meters away. She could only pray that the men all made it out alive and unharmed.

After what felt like ages, the sounds began to die down until she could hear nothing. She held her breath, not knowing who had won.

"Catherine." She heard the voice of an elf call and she sighed in relief. "I'm here," she said, managing to get herself on her foot as she came out of her hiding spot. "Is everyone…"

"Everyone is alive and unharmed. Perhaps just a little bruised, but nothing more," said an elf, but it was too dark for Catherine to be to tell that it was Elladan who had spoken.

Catherine looked for Cathalon. "Your horse?"

He sighed heavily. "She is dead. The wargs got to her before I could."

Catherine felt a pang in her heart. Sure, it was just an animal, but she was fond of almost all animals. "I'm sorry," was all she could think of saying.

Cathalon simply nodded and walked over to Seobryn to ride with him. Catherine felt someone approach her from the side and saw an elf held out his hand to help her steady herself by leaning on him. She squinted, trying to make out the colors of his robe to tell who he was.

"I am Elrohir," he said with a smile.

"You can't blame me for trying to make it out," she smiled.

He smiled more, but then it dropped to a more serious look. "I believed you gone for a moment back there. What did you do?"

Catherine frowned a bit. "What do you mean?"

"I believe she is not aware of what she did," Dyrin said, remembering their conversation as he led her to safety.

"So you are not aware that you created some sort of shield that stopped the warg before it could get to you?" Bemor, the other one who had seen the event happen, asked.

"I did? I… I really don't recall it. I mean, if I did, I don't think I realized what I was doing." She stopped to think hard about it for a moment. "I think I was trying to think of the shielding spells I memorized along the way. But I did not notice when I casted it then."

"Can you try it again?" Elladan asked. He had not seen it happen, nor had anyone else but Elrohir, Bemor and Dyrin.

"I suppose I can try…" she said, a bit uncertain of how exactly it was done. She remembered the spells, the shielding spell that was meant for solid objects. It didn't specify how to cast it besides saying the word in your mind, so she did, but nothing happened. She repeated it again, but again, nothing happened. "I don't know what I did, but right now it's not working."

"Your hand was outstretched last time," Elrohir said.

"Okay," she said, stretching her right arm and repeating the word in her mind. When nothing happened, she closed her eyes and focused all her thought on it. It was then that her ring glowed and the golden light emitted from her. Catherine opened her eyes when she heard a few gasps and saw the ward in front of her. Her eyes widened and she gasped, not believing that she was creating this. For a moment she just stared at it in disbelief, but then a smile slowly crossed her lips until she was beaming at the magical display. She laughed a little, not knowing what else to do.

"That ring," Amener said, "what is it?"

Catherine released the ward and turned to look at the old man.

"It serves as an amplifier and conductor of magic. According to my aunt's tales, Silver Tongues can use almost any metal item to help them cast spells more accurately and with more power. It also helps beginner Silver Tongues to master their talent with more ease. She gave me this ring when, uh," she was not sure how to explain her experience when she was in that in between part or the world. "When I was able to contact her through a spell."

"We can discuss this further on our way to Imladris," Cathalon said. "We should leave before any more orcs return."

"Aye, we should," Elladan replied. "We shall ride away from the Great Road until we have passed the Trollshaws."

"Agreed," Bemor replied.

Elrohir helped Catherine onto the horse and this time he sat her in front of him. He knew that she could use a rest after this.

* * *

**Trivia time!**

**In order to understand some things, please read the little trivia I left here for you guys.**

**Currency in Middle earth: Castar is the chief currency in Gondor. I found very little information on Middle earth currency. The Castar (Mirian in Sindarin), as far as I understand, is like a silver coin, and a tharni is a smaller coin. They also mention silver pennies when the hobbits buy Bill in Bree (book verse) They paid twelve silver pennies for the pony, which sort of helps me try to figure out how prices work in Middle earth. Based on this information, I tried to make the story as accurate as possible with the whole money and currency thing.**

**Distance: So I spent a looong time reading over several texts in order to know the distance from one place to the other, how many miles and about how long it took Tolkien's characters to get there. Then I tried to do the math including horses and tried to be as true to the time and distance as possible. Aragorn, Legolas and Gimli ran 99 miles in three days, the road from Bree to Rivendell were approximately 323 miles. Add horses, how fast and for how long they can run (and it always seems that Tolkien's horses run just a bit faster than our horses because the distances they covered in the books do not seem possible in the real world, taking the example of the Three hunters and Gandalf who covered over 70 miles in one day) and just go crazy trying to figure it all out. So I think that the time.**

**So, I am really trying to make this story as realistic as possible within the context of Middle earth. I hope you are enjoying it so far. Please review if you wish :D**


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